braggies

Just an Update

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:11:00 +0000

Whoah! It is already mid month and yet this blog haven't leap to the new year.

Busy at work and family matter capped the year 2011 on a not so happy end for me.

I was prepared to not spend Christmas in a place outside of Singapore and resigned to have a repeat of how I spent it the the year before. But what I was not prepared to was to received the news that my mother was rushed to the hospital two days before Christmas due to heart problem. It was her second. My family back home literally spend Christmas in the hospital, and I left worried and alone and waiting anxiously news from home. She's out of the hospital on new year's eve, and now she's undergoing physiotherapy as right part of her body was affected.

As for work, yesterday we have completed the major part of the project I am supervising. Luckily the project contractor had exerted extra effort to rush a bit so we don't have to cram before the Chinese new year holidays. And because of this I already got the approval to clear my remaining annual leave for the year. Finally I can now pay visit and comfort my nanay back home.

It was on Christmas day that the doctor attending my mom, assured us that she's already in stable condition. Happy and thankful I just let out all the worries and sadness that day in the evening by Christmas dinner at the Marina Bay area and ended it by leisurely walking and enjoying the festivities happening along Orchard Road. It was a wonderful moment to behold and literally be merry.

New year's eve was spent with the family by cyber.

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:28:00 +0000

Does this is the way we should be doing when we travel? May the birth of our Savior continue to inspire us. Have a blessed Christmas!

The Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:07:00 +0000

On its ninth year, the annual Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore was held last sunday December 4, 2011. Just like in previous years, different categories have different starting points. The full-marathon begins at Orchard Road near Ngee Ann City, the half-marathon at Sentosa Bridge, and the 10km race starting point at the Esplanade. All routes end at the Padang.

Two ambulance cars traversed though the race route, later turned out that a 22 year old participant collapsed at the finish line and later died. He participated in the half-marathon category.

The Kenyan nationals Charles Mwai Kanyao and Irene Jerotich Kosgei won the full marathon men and women categories respectively.

Here's the sidelight of the said event.

Casa de Lou Kau in Macau

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:24:00 +0000

One of the places of interest within the historic center of Macau and inscribed by UNESCO as a world heritage site is the Casa de Lou Kau. The Casa de Lou Kau or the Lou Kau Mansion is a traditional Chinese courtyard house with western influence located on one of the alleys close to Largo de Senado.

This Chinese House was built in around 1889 was one of the residences of the wealthy merchant Lou Cheoc Chi who made a fortune operating gambling facilities in Macau.

Visiting and exploring the house gives you an idea how an affluent Chinese family lives in the 1800 in Macau. The house has recessed entrance that opens into a main hall with side wings. Two interior courtyards that opens up brings in natural light and divide the house into three sections. The first section is the entrance hall that serves as the main living area, the tea hall is the second section, and the third section is called the senior hall exclusively for senior members of the family.

The house interior is an interesting study.

The main entrance hall has an intricate wooden carvings purposely to ward off bad luck.

The wooden stained glass windows and the carved wooden ceiling has resemblance with the churches interiors.

The floor tiles

The open courtyard provide natural lighting, notice the carving on the roof wall

The wooden panels that separate the halls

Photos of the house owner were on display at the entry way of the mansion.

The second floor is off-limit for public viewing. The Mansion is open to the public on weekends and public holidays from 9:00am to 7:00pm.

Orchard Road Singapore Christmas Light Up 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:24:00 +0000

The Christmas season in Singapore is officially on. Last saturday the annual Orchard road Christmas Light Up ceremony was held in front of Takashimaya Shopping Mall along the Orchard Road. No less than the president of Singapore graced this annual event. This year theme is "Christmas Blooms in Singapore" where the whole stretch of the famous road is adorned with glittering silver and blue lights. Flowers of blue colored heart-shape petals hanged on the trees transforming the shopping strip into a wonderland garden.

Here's the photos i took during the event.

Haw Par Villa

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Its been months that I have been eyeing to check out Haw Par Villa but since it is located in a place I am not familiar with, I did not take it seriously. Now that the new mrt circle line had opened and one of the stations is at the theme park doorstep I went there during the hari raya haji holiday. Feedback has it that the place is empty most of the days, but the day I was there its quite a bit crowded, maybe because it was holiday.

Tiger Balm Garden was the original name of this unusual theme park known today as Haw Par Villa. The person who built the place is the same person who is the maker of the very popular ointment product of the same name. Our medicine cabinet had always a stock of this ointment way back my childhood years. I said unusual theme park because instead of rides, it features life-sized statues and dioramas inspired from Chinese folklore, mythology, and history. Arranged in a hill ground garden are concrete sculptures and tableaus painted in bright colors in a story book manner. Stories of friendship , betrayals, evil deeds, consequences, and other teachings of Confucianism. And at the inner end part of the park is a building that gruesomely depicts how a person being judge and punish in stages before he/she is reincarnated into the next life. It is named 10 Courts of Hell. I find viewing those tableaus not at all scary but being inside that unusually hot building rather makes the viewing unsettling.

I did not paid much attention to each of the tableaus and dioramas written explanations as there are many to read about. Instead I just walk aimlessly and admire all the sculptures and trying to grasp randomly what really is the concept all about. And of course I was there for a photo walk. The place is full of visuals and interesting subjects.

Haw Par Villa is located along Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore. The most convenient way to go there is by taking MRT Circle Line, Haw Par Villa Station is just next to the theme park.

Exploring Caramoan Islands, Philippines

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 07:46:00 +0000

This post is the highlight of my trip to Caramoan, which is the island hopping. Caramoan is a peninsula with beautiful rock formations and lush small islands with white sand beaches scattered around.

Upon arrival at the Paniman beach and hired a boat for the island hopping, I bought food for lunch in a nearby small eatery while the boat is being readied. I was advised to have my lunch first since it was almost lunchtime, but I was not hungry yet so I opted to bring along the food and have lunch in the island. Immediately after we left Paniman, the approaching scenery was captivating. The rock formation that first to appear, was a good welcome start and really made me excited for the rest of the place has to offer. There were still props used by the Survivors show challenge hanging on the rock formation wall. Caramoan Islands is now popular location shoot of Survivor shows from European countries. But the last one who just left the island is Survivor India.

The first island we touched base is the Lahos Island. It was low tide when we docked, the sandy beachfront is shallow exposing the stones and corals, so it was not a good start to do swimming. But because of the shallow water, it exposes the edge of the island sharp thorny-liked rock surface. The island actually is two limestone formations cut in the middle by a sandbar creating a back-to-back beach. I did not attempt to climb up the hill since the rock is sharp and steep. After moving around this small island and managed to take photos, we left for the next island.

Matukad island has the finest white sand among the islands in this part of Caramoan. It is an ideal place to swim especially during high tide since is has a longer beachfront and has a wider seabed sand. Another attraction of the island is the lagoon nestled within the island. The lagoon is believed to be enchanted. There is a milkfish resident on the lagoon. They were used to be two fishes in the lagoon, a local resident pinned down one and brought home for dinner. Right after the whole family who partake the food died one after another in a mysterious circumstance. This has been narrated to me by the boatman who happens to be living in the same village of the family. To reach the lagoon, I climbed a steep sharp rock wall. It is a good experience to check the lagoon, it is amazing and a bit mind boggling how a single fish can live at the lagoon. The boatman mentioned that the fish is spotted there since the eighties and up to now it is still there, it approximately weigh around three kilos. Imagine how the fish can live that long, it must be something unusual, right? And while on top of the hill, it offers a beautiful bird's eye view of the beach below. I spent longer time here in the island, people watching, have my lunch, and do swimming.

We left the island, and the boatman suggested that we headed to the next island where I can enjoy swimming more since the water level more deeper. But when we arrived I decided to skip it since I found the place dirty maybe because the sand is not as white and a lot of dry leaves have accumulated on the beachfront. Instead we side trip to Gota Village beach, but we did not dock because if we did, I have to pay Php300 for the customary entrance fee. We just passed by, same with the Hunungan Cove Resort, the resort owned by the province governor, as told by the boatman. And the boatman brought me to Cagbalingad island, the one facing the Hunungan Cove beach. It has a narrow beach and creamy sand, As it was still low tide in the area, the boat struggle to dock and the boatman had to pushed the boat so as we can reach the beach. Because of that, I the beach was practically mine for half an hour until other boats came one after another afterwards. There is a coral garden few meter away from the beachfront, with a lot of colorful fishes that hang around. A good spot for snorkeling, I could have enjoyed my stay there should I have goggle. The boatman left me in the island, as they have to go back to their home for late lunch and refueling. So I was there for almost 2 hours swimming and just simply watching boats come and go. By the time I left the island, ten boats had docked as the water level has steadily rise up. That was the last island we have visited.

And before heading back to Paniman, the boatman brought me to a nearby cave which being used as a sleeping quarter of the Survivor contestants. The cave has a very high ceiling with opening at the top, and has a very deep hole below. So standing at the entrance, the view offers a very interesting perspective. By the way this cave itinerary was not part of the island hopping. What happened was after the fourth island visit, the boatman told we were heading back to Paniman. I caught surprised as there are more islands we have not visited. Apparently the price I paid covers only the nearby islands, and rest of the islands as a separate price tag. That give me reason for coming back to Caramoan.

Exploring Kampong Buangkok, Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:04:00 +0000

There is a last rural village standing in Singapore up to now. And last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to explore the place and observed how is a rural village in Singapore look like then. As almost of Singapore land area has been developed and transformed into a modern city state, this one spot of secret tropical eden has been left behind and kept into its original condition as in the early years of Singapore.

Though it is just a compact village with just over twenty houses, it still provide a glimpse of how a traditional rural way of living in the early days in Singapore. All one-story houses were owned by a single owner and being rented at a nominal amount to mostly the owner family friends who where living there ever since.

Kampong Buangkok, kampong is a malay word for village, is very much authentic traditional asian village. Nothing has been changed nor altered, from the small roads, wooden painted houses, electrical posts, to outdoor antennas on the roof. It seems time stood still here. The way of life of the residents has not been altered too, laundry is being hanged to dry in the backyard. The day i was there I spotted a resident cultivating soil for planting vegetables. Another is cooking outdoor as it appear to be having a family celebration that day, as the music from the inside is played loud.

The surrounding is a joy to experience as it differs to a usual modern environment. Bougainvillea in all variety clinging on front yard fences. Fruit trees like mangoes, starfruit, and jackfruit grows in the backyards. Chickens roaming freely on the alleyway. Big trees in all directions hides the village from the modern apartment blocks.

The government still provides electricity, running water in a traditional way, even a postman comes once a day on his motorcycle to deliver mails house to house.

There is no definite date until when the village last, as the government has already plan to demolish the village and turned it into another modern housing estate, so I heard.

Houses were accessible through narrow alleys.

Most houses were of wood materials, painted in bright colors.

A resident doing backyard farming

A resident doing a normal house chore

A street signage

the village has a worship place too

And like in any village, there is a rich resident too

For direction going to Kampong Buangkok, I took a bus no. 70 at Yio Cho Kang mrt bus interchange. And alighted at the bus stop opposite the Church of St Vincent de Paul. I went down the steps near the shell gas station and cross a bridge by the creek. From there is just a walking distance to the entrance road to the village.

This blog is on

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:00:00 +0000

So this blog is in hiatus once again for over a month now. And no one is asking why. It goes to show that nobody is really reading my blog and those who happens to drop by were only because google direct them to here.

Anyway i am busy with work, and in the past month i was not able to go out on a trip because again due to work. And this will go on until the project completion targeted to be on April next year. Unlike in my previous job assignment, I am on my own here on my present post so i cannot file a short leave even if i am intitled to. So my short holidays will be on hold for now.

As i am busy with work, updating this blog will be a struggle for me. There will be some changes in my postings beginning today. I will be updating this blog using blogger mobile app. But then again this will depend on time availability and if i have interesting stuff to share ��.

Last month i was at the Singapore F1 Night Race, and just as last year i was dissapointed with the photos i took on the race cars. And also i was not happy with the photos i took during the event. That is why i am not too enthusiastic to post it. But if i really have time i will post an entry of it here anyway.

Change is enevitable, as much as i am hasitant to, i guess this is one option i have to do for now.

Yes this blog is still on...

My Trip to Caramoan Islands, Philippines

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:06:00 +0000

I took a short leave from work coinciding the 2 days holiday here in Singapore, and went home to the Philippines. I have to two reasons on going home, one is to settle some design issues of the on-going renovation of our house, and second to finally explore the Caramoan Islands. It would be my third attempt this time, so the excitement and determination to finally pushed it this time is there.

The day I went to Caramoan, typhoon Mina was ravaging the northern part of the Philippines. But the weather in CamSur is fair and sunny. Because of typhoon the Philippine Coast Guard has prohibited traveling by sea I think the entire Luzon island. I was not aware of the situation and learned only at the jetty in Sabang where the boats to Caramoan departs. The weather was good and normal but the regular boats cancelled their trips as per PCG instructions. But there are small boats who are willing to ferry passengers to Caramoan by evading the authorities. Determined to push my trip to Caramoan, I took the risk by joining with 6 other passengers. Little did I know that the small boat we took as an escape boat will be the same boat that will bring us to Caramoan. I thought we will be transferred to a bigger boat stationed somewhere away from the jetty. It was a scary trip, because the boat is small, we were not wearing safety vest,and the waves were big in most part of the sea as we approach Caramoan. The boat has a small engine so we have to stop three times to fill gas right in the middle of the sea. Thank goodness for the beautiful view of the mainland, it somehow help me diverts my attention from the big waves in front of us. There will be no next time, imagine a paper boat in water subjected by a blowing fan. We arrived at the Guijalo Port safe and I sane. The boatman initially asked for Php3,500, but we managed to lower it to Php2,500. The regular boat ride cost only Php120 from Sabang Port. Sabang Port is in San Jose, CamSur which is an hour away from Naga City, and 8 hours from Manila by bus.

I arrived Caramoan at around 10 in the morning. I stayed for a while at the port and took some photos while trying to listen to locals offering services, accommodations, boat rental for island hopping, tour guides. I spoke with the same dialect since I live in the same province. I befriended one of the local who offered me a ride and knew a place where I can stay for a night, and who will refer me to a boatman for the island hopping trip. I sensed they were all his relatives, which is good for me since i can bargain and sure not to be treated as tourist. He suggested that I should stay at the vicinity of Paniman beach instead at the town center or Centro where most of the accommodation can be found. he charged me Php70 from the port to Paniman beach. We passed by Centro on our way to Paniman and dropped by the Church of St Michael.

the Guijalo Port

The Church of St Michael

Centro or town proper

Paniman Beach has a long stretch of beach front and the water is still all day. Ideal for swimming but the sand is ordinary and dirty in some part. The locals resides on the banks and most of the beachfront is occupied by the boats. There are few beach resort lined on the beach, and local residents made their rooms available for rent. Paniman beach is a good spot for sunrise viewing. It offers a magnificent view of the sunrise as early as 5 in the morning where it flooded of red burst as the sun started to rise. That is exactly I have seen the next day I was there. I woke up and my window view turned red orange. Too bad I was not able to captured it since my camera runned out of battery, nevertheless iPhone managed to captured it.

Paniman beach is also the starting point of the island hopping, and there are a lot of boats to choose from. I rented a boat for Php1000 after negotiating. The regular boat rent is Php1500. The price covers only the nearby islands near Paniman. The northern group of islands cost higher by Php500 on a separate package so I was told. So if you want to cover the islands of Caramoan, you need at least two days to do so.

Paniman beach has its on Willy's Rock

My island hopping will be on my next post. I was fortunate that the weather was good so I was able to appreciate the beauty of the islands, but I was not prepared for the scorching heat. The boat has no sun shade, so at the end of the day I had a burnt skin. Aside from the islands, there are rock formations of different shape and sizes scattered in between islands. The island hopping ended at around four in the afternoon, and before we heed back to Paniman beach the boatman brought me to the nearby cave. To reach the entrance you need to climb a steep slope. As the cave were used by Survivors show contestants as tribe living quarters, there was temporary wooden stairs constructed so somehow access to the cave becomes bearable. The cave has an interesting limestone formations, and has a very high doomed type ceiling, and has a very deep opening below the entrance level. The cave can be reached from Paniman beach and it is located at the farthest end of the beach.

Rock formation scattered in between islands

One of the islands' hidden beaches

I opted for a home stay, the room cost me Php500 for a night stay. I was not lucky though since there was no power supply in the area due to bad weather condition earlier in the week. Should I have known earlier I should have opted for a regular room in the resorts nearby where there is generator on standby. But the weather was manageable at night so I still have a goodnight sleep.

I left Caramoan on the first boat trip schedule in the morning. The boat left the port at seven in the morning and two hours later we arrived in Sabang port. Thirty minutes later I was already home.

My Trip to Hanoi : Day 4

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:26:00 +0000

My last day of my trip to Hanoi Vietnam was a tour to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and its nearby attractions. After breakfast at the hotel I took a taxi that brought me direct to the mausoleum. I have to deposit my bag before I can enter the mausoleum, that turned out to be inconvenient since coming out from the building I have to follow the route that passes all the attractions before I can get back my bag that contains the camera. So I have to retrieve back my camera, and return to where the exit point of the mausoleum by passing by Ba Dinh square front of the mausoleum.

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is located at the center of Ba Dinh Square erected on the site where Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence. The building is 21.6 m height and a 41.2m width square, and is modeled after the Mausoleum of Lenin in Russia. No picture taking is allowed while inside and took only minutes since you will be continuously walking while viewing the preserved body in a dim lighted glass case. The mausoleum hall is protected by military honor guards and strictly enforce no hands in the pockets, crossed arms, and hands on the back policy.

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

The exit door of the mausoleum leads to the complex where Ho Chi Minh stays and hold office as the country's president. While being president he refused to stay in the Presidential Palace, once the palace of the Governor-General of Indochina during the colonial period. Instead he live in a simple stilt house overlooking a large carp pond. The presidential palace is not open to the public, but the stilt house is. Visitors are allowed to look through the windows and viewed the interiors. Also in the compound are buildings were he received and entertains dignitaries. The garage that contains his presidential cars can be viewed here too.

The Presidential Palace

The stilt house

Uncle Ho study room

Uncle Ho bedroom

Buildings part of the presidential compound

Uncle Ho used cars in a garage display

Just outside of the presidential complex gates, is the One Pillar Pagoda. The present one is just a rebuilt of the original constructed in 1049. The One Pillar Pagoda is built of wood on a single stone pillar designed to resemble a lotus blossom. It is a cultural and historic relic for Vietnam. Legend says that it was built by King Ly Thai Tong in honor to the goddess Quan Am, after the goddess appeared in his dreams handing him a son while seated on a lotus flower. As the king was already old and childless with no successor, then took a farmer girl as concubine and later bore a son just as forecasted by the goddess. Deeply grateful, the king built the pagoda.

Adjacent to the pagoda is the Ho Chi Minh Museum. The building was conceptualized together with the mausoleum. This lotus inspired building was inaugurated on the occasion of 100th birthday of Ho Chi Minh. The museum displays personal items and photos from Ho Chi Minh's life.

Main stair that lead to the first hall where the Ho Chi Minh statue is standing tall

The Lenin Park

typical Hanoi street

The Flag Tower

My Trip to Hanoi : Cruising Halong Bay

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:34:00 +0000

Day 1 in Hanoi

The next day of my trip to Hanoi Vietnam, was a cruise to Halong Bay on board Elizabeth Sails Junk. I booked a two days one night cruise arranged for me by the hotel tour desk manager. The cruise cost me USD109, inclusive of 2 lunches, dinner, and a breakfast. The tour guide will pick me up at the hotel supposedly by eight in the morning, but arrived in the hotel almost an hour later because of the traffic and being I was the last to be picked up.

Halong Bay is in Quang Ninh province which is 170 kilometers from Hanoi. The land travel was uneventful and dragging, the mini bus stopped for 20 minutes at a marble factory along the way. We arrived at the jetty in Bai Chay past 12 noon and surprised to find out that there were thousands of tourists waiting at the jetty all bound to Halong Bay. We were 17 tourists who will be cruising aboard Elizabeth Sails junk. The junk is stationed away from the jetty so we were ushered to a boat that brought us to the junk.

the scenery of the countryside

the bus that brought us to Bai Chay

the jetty port

the Elizabeth Sails Junk

my assigned room, I was lucky I was all alone

the dining hall of the junk

Immediately after we embarked we gathered at the second level, the dining area for the welcome drink and the room assignment. I was lucky I was alone in a twin sharing room. The room is quite nice with a small toilet and shower. The lunch was served 15 minutes after we were all settled in, and the junk begins to sail in a very slow pace. The lunch was vietnamese seafood cuisine set menu, and it was good. After the hearty lunch, I got the chanced to appreciate the beauty of Halong bay up closed. Because by the time we were done with our lunch, we were already in the middle of the bay. Truly it was really a magnificent landscape with varying sizes of limestone formation scattered around the bay. Ha Long is literally Descending Dragon in english. After I took an agonizing shower, because there is less water coming out from the shower head, I hurriedly climbed up to the sun deck and took photos with gusto.

this is the beach we were supposed to go for swimming the following day

By 3:30 we were to visit one of the cave attractions in Halong Bay, the Song Sot Cave or Surprise Grotto Cave. We were ushered to a wharf and climbed steep concrete steps to the mouth of the cave which is about 25m above sea level. The cave was humungous so to speak, and it was cold inside. Lightings and footpath were installed inside the cave for easy access and to add drama to the place. There are thousands of stalactites and stalagmites resembles many possible shapes and forms. There is one that highlighted by our tour guide that resemble into a phallus belonged to a king. At the inner chamber, it appears to be a wide theatre hall, with many stalactites hang from the ceiling in various forms and shapes. It is so wide it could contain thousands of people.

the Song Sot Cave, I was disappointed of the photos I took , this is the only decent one I had

view from the exit point of the cave

one of the many boat vendors in Halong bay

Kayaking is the next activity after the cave visit. In one of the floating village nearby the wharf is where the kayaks can be rented, it is free for us since it is inclusive of the cruise. I took the opportunity to do photo shooting. We all went to the junk after that and spent the rest of the day relaxing. My anticipated sunset viewing was not spectacular as I was expecting. The afternoon was gloomy though there was no rain. By 7pm the dinner was served. The food was not as delicious compared to lunch but still ok. Evening was uneventful, and I just lay in sun-bathing chairs hoping to view a starry starry sky but there was none, so I just slept sooner than I would have to.

sunset was not spectacular..

The next day activities were never followed as a lot hopped in the boat from the tourists who will returned back to jetty. We were supposed to go to Totov island for swimming, and visit another cave. The boat were crowded when we returned back to Bai Chay. We arrived at the jetty before 12 noon and took lunch at Thang Long restaurant nearby. By 1:30pm we begun our land travel back to Hanoi, and I arrived at the hotel by 6:00 in the evening.

the sunrise the following day is also ordinary

the rain came in the morning

views on the way back to Bai Chay jetty

I spent the rest of the night roaming around the Old Quarter and ended the night at one of the bars near the Backpackers Lane. The cruise was really amazing, and I must say it satisfied my long desire to visit the place.

On my last day in Hanoi, I got to see Uncle Ho in person. On my next post.

My Trip to Hanoi Vietnam, Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:46:00 +0000

This month travel happened last weekend for four days to Hanoi, Vietnam. I filed a two days annual leave to coincide with the National day holiday here in Singapore. This is another last minute trip since I really can't decide where to go in the first place. I have been wanting to go to Hanoi to visit the Halong Bay, but due to inability to find a cheap airline fare the plan has never been materialize until only last week when I chance upon a cheaper one coinciding the holiday. And I have a blast in Hanoi.

I arrived Hanoi before lunch on Sunday. The trip from the airport to the Hanoi Boutique Hotel which is located at Old Quarter district took me 45 minutes on a normal traffic. I was surprised since the airport is just 40 km outside of the city. The room given to me has no bath tub, the reason why I chose this hotel, but after explaining to the receptionist I was transferred to the one with a bath tub. Though the room with no bath tub is a good one because it has a glass encased shower right in the room, I preferred the one having a bath tub.

Upon settling in at the hotel, I arranged my cruise tour to Halong Bay since I had difficulty booking online because most of the junks who has good reviews were fully booked for Monday two days one night tour, that is why I just decided to do the booking upon arrival in Hanoi instead. I was lucky since the hotel has a tour desk that can arranged a tour. I settled for the Elizabeth junk, though I was hesitant since I can't find an online review of the junk. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the Old Quarter and the Hoan Kiem Lake areas.

There is an accent well at the hotel lobby, built in the 19th century believed to be the street named coined after.

The Old Quarter district is a centuries old traditional street market famous for each street then named after a particular trade the merchants selling. Nowadays, it still evident but no longer remain exclusive. Like travel agencies have inhabit in almost every street, and the budget hotels. I come out of the Old Quarter southern boundary that opens up to the famous Hoan Kiem Lake. The lake is regarded as heart of the city, There is a small island in the lake where the Ngoc Son Temple is erected. It can be reached by a brightly painted red wooden bridge. I will be posting a separate entry for the Hoan Kiem Lake. After walking around and away of the lake I proceeded to the St Joseph Cathedral and attended sunday mass. I spent a few minutes at the nearby street cafe opposite the church. The area surrounding the church ground is full of locals sipping a local drink similar to ice lemon tea.

The St Joseph Cathedral was built in 1886 in the neo-gothic style architecture. Quite unique to the cathedral is its square towers.

Hoan Kiem Lake

After that I keep walking until I ended up at the Hanoi Opera House. I watched the sunset while sitting at the steps of the Hanoi Opera House. I returned back to the hotel to freshen up before exploring the night scene of the city. I have my dinner at a corner street at the Old Quarter, I was not comfortable eating in there because it is unhygienic but I was intrigued by the food being serve, the pigeons. I ordered a grilled pigeon out of curiosity and I was enticed my the locals enjoying the food. I did not like the taste of the meat at first, but when a local told me to dip in a accompanying sauce, I then appreciated the food. The rest of the evening was spent exploring the Old Quarters streets. There was a night market being on a sunday at the whole street that leads to the Dong Xuan market, selling variety of cheap clothing, souvenir items, and food. The night market is typical to any night market being held in any asian city. I did not explore the nightlife on the first night since I have to wake up early the following day for the Halong Bay cruise.

Weekend in Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 07:19:00 +0000

Last month I crossed over to Malaysia for a two days one night short trip because I have to accompany a blogger friend who wanted to visit Malaysia before he goes back to the Philippines. The trip was done by land, as we had to pass by Malacca before heading to Kuala Lumpur for a night stay. Instead of taking bus from Singapore, we crossed the border and took a bus at the Johor Bahru's Larkin bus terminal as it is cheaper. We arrived Malacca by lunch time and leave for Kuala Lumpur at 3:00pm. For three hours we managed to cover famous landmarks in downtown Malacca, being my friend's first time visit I knew he had the same experience I had when I visited the place for the first time.

The travel to Kuala Lumpur from Malacca was a bit sluggish or so I thought as we arrived beyond expected time. And add, I was surprised to be dropped to the newly built bus terminal outside of Kuala Lumpur as I expected it would be at Puduraya terminal at the city center. The new terminal named ITT-BTS is located about 20 minutes outside of the city . We took the LRT train to the city and managed to arrive at the hotel hassle free because the hotel location is just a walking distance from the train station. We encountered problem with the hotel room as mentioned in the blog preceding, but everything turned out well. The first thing we did upon checked in was to dipped at the hotel small swimming pool. Coming out, we we went first to the Merdeka Square and then to the Petronas Twin Towers, the main reason why he wanted to go to Kuala Lumpur in the first place. And have our dinner at Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang area. When you want to experience dining out the local way in Kuala Lumpur this is the place to be, the whole street has a lot of food choices and the crowd is overwhelming at night time.

The next day after a hearty breakfast and upon checking out, we went to St John Cathedral for a quick visit being Sunday and to the Central Market to buy souvenir items. After that we then proceeded to Batu Caves which is located 13 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur. We took KTM Komuter train from KL Sentral. Batu Caves is one of the famous attractions in Malaysia. The main cave has 100 meters high opening and about 400 meters long. It is a sacred place for Hindus as the cave host Temple Cave. The cave can be access by climbing 272 steep concrete steps.

After exploring the caves we went back to KL Sentral for a late lunch, then took the KLIA Transit to Putrajaya. Putrajaya is the new administrative city of Malaysia. Attractions to this part of Malaysia are the modern government buildings, notable is the Prime Minister office building, the Putra Mosque, bridges, and the picturesque lake. We waited until evening comes, to took photos of the Seri Wawasan bridge which a delight to watch due to its minute changing color scheme.

We took the same train to Bandar Tasik Selatan station where the bus terminal is located for our trip back to Singapore.

Booking a hotel room

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:55:00 +0000

In every travel that I made, I am particular with the hotel room I will be staying. Midrange hotel is always a good choice, not only that it is within the budget but you can be assure of comfortable stay.

I maximized my time exploring the place, and visited more if not all the attractions in the place I went to. So at the end of the day I will be tired and exhausted. So the need to have a hot dipped at the bath tub is always a welcome respite, and especially if I still have to explore the night life after that. Choosing a nice bed and room comes handy online, and hotel bookings online is reliable and always deliver. I always rely on agoda for my hotel bookings, not only the hotels on their selection is true, but they offer discounts that hard to resists.

But despite of careful selection, there will a chance that what you seen online does not match in actual. Or worst the hotel itself trying to shortchange you. For the first time I have experience this during this month travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A blogger friend asked me to accompany him for a trip to Malaysia. I arranged for the hotel where we going to stay in Kuala Lumpur and managed to book an executive room with a view of the Petronas Twin Towers, being located within the city center. Upon arrival we proceeded directly to the hotel and immediately checked in at the hotel since it was already late in the afternoon. Alas the hotel receptionist tried to shortchanged us by giving us a standard room instead of the executive I booked. I found out this when we were in the room already, were I noticed that the room doesn't matched the one I have chosen based on the website. I checked back to their own website trying to find out if indeed I was given the correct room. The room assigned to us was indeed a standard room being located on the 6th floor. Executive rooms were at the next floor higher. When I called the reception, the receptionist argued that the room given to us is indeed executive and she's not apologetic. I mentioned to her what I found out, that based on hotel website, executive rooms were located on the 7th floor and the ones in the 6th floor were standard rooms. She was speechless for awhile and told me there were no available executive rooms. The heck what is the use of booking in advance if this would be the case. Should the room turned out to be good I would not be insistent because the standard room is not only bare but everything inside is old as it doesn't undergone renovation yet. Aside from that, the reason I booked to this hotel was because of the beautiful night view of the Petronas Twin Towers as mentioned on their website. Even this was a disappointment because the room was facing on the opposite, with no view except the small swimming pool below. I was resigned to accept the fate but very disappointed, and just proceeded to go out and roam the city. Passing by to the reception area to surrender the key, I was told that they will going to change our room and we can move in upon our return, she was saying something but I hardly paid attention, and that I was relieved knowing I will not be sleeping in that room that night.

Upon return to the hotel later in the night, we were given two card keys. I did not expect much for the new room, since I expected it would be the one I have booked in the first place. Upon gathering our things we proceeded to the ninth floor and surprised to find out that we were given an executive suite!

I was more than satisfied with the outcome, and the plan to wake up early to catch a ticket to the bridge of the Petronas Towers did not materialize, next time again.

Emperor Qin's Terracotta Warriors

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 05:27:00 +0000

I finally got to see the terra-cotta warriors or some of them and was overwhelmed seeing them up-close. Now on exhibition until 16 October 2011at the Asian Civilization Museum here in Singapore, the collection on display were just a fraction of actual numbers of 7,000 life-size sculpted clay terra-cotta soldiers, chariots, and horses.

The terra-cotta figures in the exhibition are a general, two archers, infantrymen, a cavalry officer, a charioteer, a strongman, and a horse. In addition to the terra-cotta warriors, other objects like an acrobat - a limestone suit of armor, real weapons, and a bronze bird. These form part of the recreation of the emperor's court for his use in the afterlife, unearthed in 1974.

I spent a lot of time at the terra-cotta soldiers standing on the middle of the exhibition hall. It was truly amazing work of art, the facial expression, the hairstyle, and the armor were so detailed.

Part of the exhibition are terra-cotta figures from the tombs of the Han dynasty.

I came in just before 2:00pm and leisurely spot one by one the collection, and the crowd was manageable. But by the time I headed for exit the the exhibition hall was full already and surprised to find out outside the exhibition hall the long queue waiting to let in.

The Asian Civilization Museum is located along the Singapore River

Opening Hours : Mon 1-7pm,Tue to Sun 9-7pm, Fri 9-9pm

Admission Ticket SGD 8-Adult 4-Kids

Macau Trip: Macau Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:21:00 +0000

The Macau Museum is located in Mount Fortress, which is adjacent to the Ruins of St. Paul’s. The three-level museum is dedicated to the history and culture of Macau, and contains vast objects of historical and cultural values. Formerly the barracks of the Fortress that converted into a weather observatory, and become a museum and was inaugurated on April 18, 1998.

The first level contains the early history, commercial activities, religions and cultures of the early generations.

The second level depicts the different aspects of tradition and art, religious ceremonies, and traditional festivals.

The third level is dedicated to contemporary Macau, the various aspects of city living.

Macau Trip: Mount Fortress

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 05:58:00 +0000

After the Ruins of St. Paul's, and visiting the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt, the next to explore is the Mount Fortress which is just adjacent to it. I traversed a green path that lead me a winding steps to a spacious platform at the top.

The Mount Fortress was built by the Jesuits in the 16^th century to depend from the pirates the complex that includes a campus and the Mother of God Church now known as the Ruins of St. Paul's. And later became Macau’s principal military defense for almost three centuries. The fortress is on top of Mount Hill covering an area of 10, 000 square meters, and shaped of a trapezoid.

The four corners of the fortress was bulge out to serve as a defense wall. The parapet sections contains 32 cannons and two corners have watchtowers. The cannons were used only once when the Dutch invaded Macau. Barracks, cisterns, and cellars were the main buildings in the fort. In 1965 the fortress where no longer a restricted military facility when the barracks were converted into a weather observatory, and then converted into now The Macau Museum.

The cellars were converted into a gallery that features the history and legends of the fortresses of Macau and cultural relics. Other archaeological findings are on display here.

The top platform were converted into a landscape garden.

The view of the city while at Mount Fortress

Macau Trip: Ruins of St Paul’s

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 05:45:00 +0000

My little adventure in the inner streets of Macau ended at the steps of Ruins of St Paul's. I settled there for awhile and intently people watch while sitting at the ledge of the steps. It was a delight and entertaining watching tourist antics on the steps. Right after I settled in, I do the same thing: taking and having photograph in front and on the steps of the famous landmark.

Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuit Order, the Church of the Mother of God was the largest Catholic church in asia at the time. The church is part of the St Paul College campus that was destroyed by fire in 1835. A total of 66 stone steps that lead to the façade of the church. The main altar location of the church were turned into a museum, The Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt.

The Crypt was built in the chancel of the church. On its side wall it displayed the contains the relics of ancient Japanese and Vietnamese martyrs inside glass cases. The lists of the name of the martyrs were inscribed outside the Crypt. The original stones of the church building were on display too, including the tomb of Alessandro Valignano, the Jesuit who founded the College of the Mother of God.As a sacred place, a cross and a tabernacle have been placed on the stones.

The Museum of Sacred Art is adjacent to the Crypt. On display were the saints images; crucifixes made of ivory, wood, and silver; and the chalices, incense boats, patens, and reliquaries dating back from the 16th century.

Looking back before heading to the Mount Fortress

Exploring the Streets of Macau

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:35:00 +0000

I fell in love the moment I have a glimpse of the old streets of Macau while riding in a bus. Despite the aging walls, the old cobblestones street alleys, there is something that I find the place unique. You just have to be there to truly fell the rich history of the city. The blending of the Chinese and Portuguese culture is so evident in every corner of its streets.

The objective of the walkthrough was to locate the Ruins of Saint Paul's. I alighted at the bus stop near the Senado Square, and from there I have to traverse the streets that will lead me to the place. Somehow instead of taking the crowded streets I ended traversing the narrow streets and eventually come out with the idea of just walk aimlessly.

It is easy to get lost and be amazed to its inner streets. Walking through, you fell like you are inside a maze and every turn will be a discovery and fell in love more. But don't worry there are street pole arrow markings that points out the directions of historical landmarks, and buildings of the city. There are street signs written in Portuguese and Chinese that you can refer to map in case you feel disoriented. But exploring the streets is not your thing and you are lost, just go with the crowd flow and it will lead you to where you want to go.

Pass by this street and try every food sample these food vendors offers and you will end up not hungry anymore once you reach to the end of the street. The only thing you need to spend is for the drink. But of course how could you resist not buying anything.

This is the view from Mount Fortress

Hong Kong Trip: Fooling Around Madam Tussaud Wax Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:56:00 +0000

My Trip to Hong Kong and Macau

One of the attractions at The Peak is the Madam Tussaud Wax Museum, It is located at the second level of the The Peak Tower. Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeow, and Pierce Brosnan awaits you at the entrance lobby where the ticket booth is located. Entrance to the museum costs HKD 160.

Upon entering the main hall through a stair, you will be greeted with flash bulbs and ambush interviews by reporters and paparazzi's, be game to grant their requests after all you paid for it. The walls along the stairs adorned with frames of photographs celebrities/ famous people being waxed. The first set of celebrities in one hall section is the Hollywood A-list stars and the Asian counterparts appears to be having a party. You will be allowed to party with them and experience walking on the red carpet.

Madam Tussaud

The next set of waxed people you'll going to meet are some of the world's most famous historical and political leaders. The British royal family has a seat vacant reserve for you, the US presidents were there and gladly vacated the oval table just for you. I feel at home at this section. I tried grabbing Mahatma Gandhi walking stick, mimicking Lee Kuan Yew straight up serious pose, asking Einstein famous equation, raising the flag for Hitler, and sit at Mao Tse Tung arm chair.

Then came the sporting heroes. I was trying to grab Yao Ming left foot so he cant shoot that ball, but then he don't need to move his leg to score. David Beckham is in the penalty area, so you are allowed to pose with him for awhile. Since Tiger Woods is contemplating for his next move, you are free to give suggestions.

Then next is the music icons zone. The then famous, the now famous, and the dead ones were represented here. Madonna has her own stage and she will allow you to sing and dance with her. Marilyn Monroe is enticing you to raise her skirt and flirt with her. Share a sofa with the Beatles, and Elvis Presley is definitely haven't left the building.

Ryan Cayabyab at the Esplanade Concert Hall

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 05:08:00 +0000

I finally set foot inside the Esplanade Concert Hall. In my list of task for this year, I included on my list that I want to see what is inside the Esplanade because I am intrigued of how the interior be look like every time I passed by the building.

The view from where I was seated

Just what I said there must be one show that really worth watching, and that show was Mr C and the RC Singers. Yes the maestro Mr Ryan Cayabyab held a concert at the Esplanade two fridays ago. I bought a ticket that sit me four rows from the stage. I just thought since its my first time, and anyway it is Mr C so it must be worth the ticket price. Watching him so close cost me 71Sgd.

The show starts at exactly 7:30pm. We were allowed to enter fifteen minutes before the show starts. The ushers says that the door will be close once the show started. But still a few managed to sneaked in right after the show started. Karylle and Christian Bautista arrived late .

The show covers Ryan Cayabyab own compositions and arrangement, his favorites, the music that influence him, to the music of Motown era, and Michael Jackson songs. The RC ( Ryan Cayabyab ) Singers were a revelation, it was my first time to watch them performed. The vocals, blending, choreography, and the showmanship, they were good and really worth listening. I enjoyed and definitely happy to watched them on stage.

The other thing I did while inside the Concert Hall was to admire the grandness of the interiors. The concert hall is one of the two main performing venues, the other one is the theatre. The concert hall can sits 1600 people, with four levels of settings. The hall has a state of the art acoustics and can cater to a diverse range of musical performances. Mr C and the RC Singers was a delight to hear inside this enormous hall.

I managed to take few photos very discreetly using iPhone.

So item no.6 is done. I noticed now that there were two no.6 items on the list...

Before the show starts

The Michael Jackson songs medley

The show is over

Mr C autograph signing outside the Concert Hall

Pinoy Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 04:58:00 +0000

This is my second time to have watched an indie film with pinoy theme here in Singapore, the first one is Serbis.

Pinoy Sunday is a film made in Taiwan by a Malaysian writer and director, with Filipino actors that plays out primarily in Tagalog. How's that? The theme of the movie is universal, it tackles the story of the migrant workers. In this particular movie it evolves around the two characters of two Filipino working in Taiwan, on their off day.

Dado (Bayani Agbayani) and Manuel (Epi Quezon) are friends with different disposition in life and character, Dado is a cautious family man with a relationship with Anna (Meryll Soriano) who works as DH, while Manuel is cocky single and chasing Celia (Alessandra de Rossi) a club singer. They have their own story to tell.

On their off day while sitting in the park they chance upon an abandoned red sofa outside an apartment building left by a Taiwanese young couple. With much prodding Manuel was able to convince Dado to take home the sofa. Having no means of transportation with no money on hand, they literally brought it on foot. With the ultimate goal of Manuel to have it at their rooftop and dream of endless nights comforts, they have to endure the heat and the busy weekend traffic just to get the sofa home. During the course of their journey, few incidents are happening along the way and their friendship is being pushed to its breaking point.

I like the story telling of the movie, it is pleasantly easy and enjoyable to watch. The writer/director conveys the difficulties faced by migrant workers in a brighter and hopeful tone. Though the movie tells the story of two Filipinos in Taiwan, the film linear to any nationality in a urban asian city like here in Singapore. The movie captures the spirit of friendship, the sense of optimism, and hope despite the hardships shared by the characters in the movie. Like Dado and Manuel, we have our own sofa to carry : commitments, struggles, temptations, passions, and dreams. Just like them, we should know how to carry it, when to push, and have time to catch breath when it become too heavy to carry.

Director Ho Wi Ding was present after the movie screening and held a Q&A. He answered how he come up with the story and what his reasons of getting Filipino actors for a Taiwan movie setting. He also answered what happened to the sofa in the end, because it doesn't shown in the film. The director says he wanted his audience come up with their own on the outcome of the sofa.

For me, I wanted the sofa ends up at the rooftop and let Dado and Manuel enjoy their dream of having ice-cold San Miguel beer in hand every night.

Singapore Flyer

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 10:13:00 +0000

I finally got the chance to experience being inside the capsule of the world's tallest observation wheel, the Singapore Flyer. Since the day I arrived here I made a mental note to visit and experience the flyer only because it was designed by my former office Arup. For me there is nothing exciting riding in a ferris wheel when I was a kid, so I never have tried one ever since. So because I was not too eager to try and just waiting for the right timing, it takes me 3 years to finally be in there.

The ride is cool, only for the view and the chance to photoshoot the city skyline. Other than that, the experience is just like you are riding in a slow pace elevator that allow you to see the nice view. I would say it's better to bring your camera to have something to do since the trip all the way around is about 30 minutes, just sitting inside the capsule is way too long to endure. But the views are great especially during the time the sun is about to set, it simply breathtaking.

For the price of Sgd 29.50 per head, it's just once is enough experience.

View of the Floating stage and the Esplanade

Inside the capsule

View from the topmost of the Flyer

View of the Central business district

Weekend Indulgence : Overnight in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (Enhenyero) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 05:35:00 +0000

It came out as a last minute decision. Though I was looking for a diversion to break the restlessness of the monotonous week days, going out of Singapore did not cross my mind at first. I was thinking of visiting a local place that I was aiming to visit but none appeals to me and my body was longing for a change environment. So I thought I have to go out somewhere that is just a short travel and just chill out and do nothing to clear out and be freed of my present state of restlessness. Beach bumming was the option but I don't want to travel far since it will just be an overnight option. So I decided to stay in a hotel in Johor Bahru with a pool and a health club and within the city center. Although the room rate is much cheaper compared to Singapore hotels, the rate of the hotel I intend to stay is out of my budget. So I explore other areas outside of the city center, and boy I was lucky to find one. It has jacuzzi right inside the room!

As result, I had a very relaxing weekend and totally rejuvenated because of the jacuzzi, and the room is not bad. I spent my entire stay in the room at the jacuzzi and was away only for dinner out.

The dinner was at a typical food strip that usually opens late in the evening and closes at the early hour of the morning. I learned that most of the regulars were Singaporeans who travel at night time to this place just to eat. Restoran 59 Abalone Noodles is famous for noodle soup with abalone, and yes I can say their's is the best tasting noodle soup. The place though is not that ideal when it comes to hygiene and the tables were lined outdoors invading the street. And they have their own drink called ice jelly, it is refreshing. The place is located along Jalan Kelewang facing Wisma Tiong Hua. The night was spent exploring the Danga Bay and its surroundings. There is outdoor themepark within the area and locals converge during evening weekends.

Danga Bay Yatch Club

Outdoor themepark at Danga Bay

Upon check out I took the opportunity to check and roam around the city and just appreciate the uniqueness of the city before heading back to Singapore in the late afternoon.

The railway station

A red house at the Old Town strip

Sultan Abu Bakar Royal Museum grounds

Little India