nooks n corners

Spain & Portugal - Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 04:54:56 PDT

After a good night's sleep, we were fresh again and ready to explore the city of Barcelona.

Despite it being close to winter with temperature hovering between 11 to 16 degree Celsius, the sun is strong and even putting on a light jacket seems too much at times. We have never imagined ourselves sweating in late autumn / early winter! As night falls, the slightly chilly temperature is great for strolling and alfresco dining.

We started our journey from the Arc de Triomf. It is a quiet little garden surrounded by busy roads.

At the other end of this garden, a multi-faceted sculpture awaits....

Crossing the Arc de Triomf leads us into the old city of Barcelona.

Street of the old city of Barcelona

The wide arrays of shops lining the narrow streets did catch our attention, but it is the closeness of the buildings that really fascinates us.

Residential cum shops block in old city of Barcelona

Coming from a small island country, we were amazed at the tightness and closeness most of the buildings are built to each other given that Spain is a large country with abundance of land unlike Singapore where land is scarce. The distance between the two buildings are unbelievably close that we think they can even share food without having to visit each other physically.

The other iconic building here is the Barcelona Cathedral. Having read so much about its beauty, we couldn't wait to visit it. To our disappointment, it was under restoration work, and thus its beauty is somewhat marred.

But all is not lost. Welcoming us at the entrance to the cathedral is the Master of the House.

Stepping inside, we were immediately wow by the grandiose of the cathedral. Its serenity and spirituality instantly brought us back to our senses from the hustle and bustle of the streets outside.

Main altar


This Gothic church was built in the 14th and 15th centuries

One of the highlights inside the cathedral is the magnificent choir stalls.

The other highlight is the Sanctissimum Sacramentium. Here in this chapel, an aura of sacredness prevails.

At the front of the cathedral (near to the main altar) lies the third highlight of the cathedral, the Crypt of Santa Eulalia, one of the patron saints.

Even the walls of the cathedral are an eye-catcher with their intricate carvings dedicated to the different saints. The gorgeous works are breathtaking. Of the many, these are the three that we especially liked.

Dedicated to Saint Marcos

Altarpiece of the Fundation of the Mercedarian Order

Image of the Holy Mother of Happiness

So much so of solemnity, time to head to the courtyard to enjoy the lighter side of things.

These geese are friendly and attention seeking too!

Having stayed in dimmed light for quite a while, the bright outdoor and its relaxed atmosphere is especially welcoming. Guess that's why most visitors (like us) find these geese very entertaining (well, not sure which way though....human entertaining the geese or the other way round!).

Here in the courtyard, carvings of saints that adorned the main hall continued, but with an airier feel. Simple yet elegant without losing any details. Maybe because we were in an outdoor area, the carvings seems to feel very "real".

We were discussing on grabbing a drink when a water fountain located at a corner of the courtyard caught our attention. Wow....it is spouting blessed drinking water!! Religion aside, the cooling water immediately refreshes us and best of all, it is free.....hmm....money saving tips!

Spiritually rested and thirst quenched, it was time to join the world outside again. At the square in front of cathedral was a flea market....what a surprise! The flea market was suppose to be held from Friday to Sunday, on every 1st and 3rd week of the month. We timed ourselves to be in Barcelona on the 1st week of the month but it was only Thursday.....so this flea market came as a pleasant surprise....a bonus!

They offer wide variety of products, mostly religious though

The range of products offered at the flea market was pretty good but nothing really caught our interest.

We were given lots of useful brochures, maps and itinerary from the Spanish embassy back home. So, naturally we thought that it would be easy for us to obtain such information here, thus we did not bring any of the brochures with us. That became our biggest mistake!! Not only was the tourist information counter hard to come by, they seriously lack useful tourist-friendly brochures and maps.

Besides the basic tourist map, all other brochure is payable....no free meals. Even then, these brochures lack the details and information compared to the ones that we obtained from the embassy. With no useful brochures and itinerary, we were thrown off-track and was momentarily lost for a while. Nope, we can't let this hiccup spoil our holiday. It was a long-planned holiday after all! Relying on our memory and shifting our mood to "take-it-easy-and-relax" gear, we continued to explore the old city of Barcelona.

As we roamed around, we came to the true heart of the city, the Barri Gotic or Gothic Quarter. The Gothic Quarter has been and continues to be the supreme historic, religious and political center of the city.

It is so medieval, isn't it?

Strolling through these historic streets, coming face to face with history seems to transport us back to the ancient days where life is life and not one 'controlled' by machines. So surreal, so romantic.

From here, we took a train to Montjuic Park, one of the must visit to Barcelona. We had planned to visit this park the following day, a Friday to catch the spectacular water performance of the Magic Fountain. However, the fountain has been closed for 6 months for a major refurbishment and was expected to be ready only in December 2010 or early 2011. Having heard so much praises for it, I'm sure you can guess how disappointed we were.

Still, we made our way there to admire the beauty of Montjuic Park. The first site that caught our eyes when we came out from the train station was this sculpture....not sure if it has any significance, just find it beautiful.

Directly opposite this sculpture is a pair of Venetian towers, the starting point of a long easy walk to the park.

The majestic building on top of the park is the Palau Nacional which houses the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Isn't it magnificent?

This dome was built in 1929 and remodeled shortly before the Olympics

Side view of Palau Nacional at dusk

Further to the side of the Palau Nacional is a small park where Spain's hosting of the 1992 Summer Olympic Game was evidenced.

Cross this small, quiet park brought us to the Anillo Olimpico, the epicenter of the 1992 Summer Olympic Game.

Olympic Stadium that stage the opening and closing ceremonies; and the track & field event during the Olympic.

Chancing upon the epicenter of the Summer Olympic Game was interesting but the most rewarding of today's exploration was the mesmerizing sunset that greeted us.

With sunset, it also means it is time for dinner (though the Spanish works on a different timeline!). For us, when in Spain, do as the Spanish does. We decided to go in search of an interesting building that stands out among the skyline of Barcelona and has been appearing in Barcelona's postcards.

Not sure what's the name of this commercial building but the different lighting that illuminates the building every night is indeed fascinating.

This search also brought us to a huge shopping mall where we could do our next best interest.....shopping for great deals and hunting for food.

We did some shopping but there is one place that is a MUST for us whenever we travel on our own. That's the local supermarket! It is the most interesting place where we can experience the lifestyle and food of the locals. Best of all, it is the most economical place for free & easy travellers be it food, drinks, snacks and even gifts for family and friends back home.

Oohhh.....what's that pungent smell???

Jamon Iberico

Our first impression was "WOW" for the grand display and "errrrrr" for the smell. Besides paella, guess Spanish ham is the next national dish of Spain. This kind of sight is visible in almost all big supermarkets. For Spanish ham lovers, the air is filled with mouth-watering aroma. For non-lovers like us, unfortunately the smell makes lingering around this section challenging and unbearable. Better move to our favourite section....the fruits area.

Spain is a country blessed with great weather and soil condition to be able to produce not only a wide variety of fruits and vegetables but also large, juicy ones.

Not good enough to wow you? look further.....

What a Giant green chili!!!

This is definitely the largest red capiscum and green chili that we've seen. Of course, besides these 2 types of vegetables, there are many other variety of fruits and vegetables that were not simply large but hugemongous.

It is extremely juicy and sweet. We're hooked on it.

There are 2 types. We had this species throughout our trip except in Madrid where they only offer the softer type....a totally different texture one but just as nice.

We were lucky to have golden peach and persimmons in season when we were there. We are fruit lovers but peach and persimmons were 2 of our most favourite fruits especially when they are expensive and hard to come by in Singapore. So, we took full advantage of our blessings and each had a peach and a persimmon everyday (who cares about having an apple a day!).

Ok, we've made it...it was 9pm now and we hadn't gotten our dinner. Since we were dead tired by now, we bought some food and made our long way back to our hotel to enjoy some peaceful and quiet dinner time.

Spain and Portugal - Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 01:28:27 PST

After so many hiccups that arose during the planning stage, having overcome them and finally being there at the airport waiting for our flight seems so surreal. And the thought that we will be visiting the places that we've read about during our research through travel books and the internet, we're bursting with so much excitement and joy....just like these flowers at Changi Airport.

Sunflower Garden in Terminal 2, Changi Airport

It was a fantastic start to our journey....with a night flight that's not full (no time adjustment, no jet let)....so we were able to sleep throughout the flight and arrive fresh in the morning in Barcelona. See....the first ray of sunlight of Barcelona! We were finally touching down Barcelona's international airport.

We were so overwhelmed with our new environment that while other passengers were rushing to the conveyor belt to wait for their luggage, we went "touring" of the airport instead. (Of course, we keep track of our time....wouldn't want to lose our luggage and spoils the holiday.)

Hey, we were so lucky! We reached the conveyor belt just in time for it to start working and our luggage were the first few pieces to start the conveyor rolling.

The customer service staffs at the airport wasn't very helpful but the abundance of information from the internet were. We took a free airport shuttle bus from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 to catch a Renfe train to Badalona, a seaside town where our hotel was located.


We are the 'seagulls'

Being our first time travelling on Spain's comprehensive train system, it took us longer than the expected time to reach our hotel from the airport. We didn't understand the purpose of the hotel staff and train station officer giving us a list of the stations leading up to our final stop, Badalona when we asked for direction. So, the moment we saw a train pulling up at the deck that we were supposed to board, we happily jumped onto the train! It was after 10 minutes when our surrounding started to get remote that we figured out why the list of stations that we were told to look out for. Each boarding deck serves a number of trains heading towards different cities outside of Barcelona! How could we make such a mistake! We were at the inter-state train station and not the train station that serves Barcelona city.

Phew! It was a tiring journey....walking up and down the train stations with our luggage. But, no venture no gain right?

Despite the tiring train ride, the fantastic weather...sunshine accompanied by cold breeze, and the breathtaking coastline of Badalona immediately set us back into our holiday mood. Walking along the coastline towards our hotel made our luggage seems lighter and the many food outlets lining along the coast made our stomach groan. Badalona is a beautiful town to rest, relax and recharge.

Food outlets along the beach of Badalona

Immediately after checking-in, we headed back to Barcelona to visit the world famous La Sagrada Familia (Church of Holy Family).

View of the La Sagrada Familia from Hospital de la Santa Creu. La Sagrada Familia really lives up to its reputation.....it is always under construction!

We knew it was going to be rush given that we were only 2 hours away from sunset (and possibly the closing time of the church). But, we weren't going to take any chance not being able to visit it at all. It will be a great pity not visiting this icon of Barcelona while in Barcelona! Puzzled over our hurry? Well.....Pope Benedict XVI was scheduled to consecrate La Sagrada Familia on 7 Nov 2010, just 3.5 days away from us!

Setting up of the altar for the consecration of La Sagrada Familia. The Altar Canopy has been empty since Gaudi's time.

When we stepped out of the La Sagrada metro station, the surrounding streets of the church was like a war-zone with workers busy setting up stages, railings, chairs, banners, lighting, sound system etc; and all except one of the entrances of the church were closed to public with policemen heavily guarding them.

Amid the chaos and crowd, we barely make it in time to purchase our tickets before the last ticket-booth closes for the day, and we were the last few to join the queue to take the elevator to the top of the church.

After the rush, everything else was magical......

Passion Facade of La Sagrada Familia

Upon entering the church, we were immediately "wow" by its complex architecture....it is an art that plays with columns and sunlight.

Despite having to queue for half an hour (it would have been longer had it not because it was closing soon) for the elevator to bring us to the top of the church, the wait was worthwhile.

4 of the 8 Bell Towers that were built. 4 more to go before completion. Each bell tower is dedicated to an Apostle.

Sunset

The breathtaking view and the ability to come so close to the 'characters' that adorns the facade of the La Sagrada Familia was an experience. Reluctantly, we made our way down (we chose to walk) to slowly savor all that it has to offer.

At "ceiling height" of the church

Looking down one of the Bell Tower from the top

Spiral staircase. Steep stone steps, 400 in each, leading from the top of the Bell Tower to the lower galleries. Very narrow and steeply curved. Need extra caution especially with the little light that manages to get through, it is treacherous.

The other important highlight of the church is the Crypt, where Gaudi is buried. Unfortunately, it was already closed for the day when we visited. What a waste!

Nevertheless, we managed to visit the museum before it too closes on us.

Candle holders used during Gaudi's time

To us, the highlight of the museum will have to be the section that explains the architecture concept of Gaudi.

Architecture concept of Colonia Guell Church by Gaudi


Hanging model of Gaudi.

We next hurried to the other facade of the La Sagrada, the Nativity Facade. Unfortunately, with the low natural light and the constant nagging of the policemen for all tourist to leave the compound (it is actually closed for the preparation of the consecration), we were unable to admire its beauty least take good photos.

Nativity Facade of La Sagrada Familia

Very reluctantly we left the church and roamed its vicinity, but not for long before we gave in to our tired body and made our way back to our hotel. Back at Badalona, we were delighted to find a lively shopping street full of interesting shops near our hotel. We simply couldn't resist the temptation and ended up shopping before our body made the final call.

We bought a delicious (and cheap) pizza from a petrol kiosk near our hotel. We have had pizzas back in our country and in other countries but this one tasted the best. Not sure was it because we were hungry (we didn't have any decent food since breakfast) or was it because of the friendliness of the shop assistants at the petrol kiosk. Despite our lack of basis conversational Spanish, the shop assistants were extremely helpful, patience and emphatic. All in all, we were very satisfied. It was a wonderful day full of blessings.

Common acronyms use in Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:36:00 PST

Singapore is also known as the land of acronyms. For those unfamiliar with acronyms, it is basically a short form of the longer version of the name. For example, MRT = Mass Rapid Transport, the equivalent of the MTR in some countries.

As a tourist, it will be useful to get familiarize with some of the common acronyms use in Singapore.

Transportation
SIA – Singapore International Airlines, the national carrier of Singapore
MRT – Mass Rapid Transport. It is a train services running in Singapore, like the MTR or Subway
LRT – Light Rapid Transit. The LRT is connected to the MRT, and is used to serve the town area
SBS – Singapore Bus Service. This is the company that runs the Singapore bus network. When you ask for direction the buses to take, Singaporean will always answer, “take SBS bus number 196 to this location”

Highways / Roads
ECP – East Coast Parkway. When you arrive from Changi International Airport, the driver will usually take you to the city via ECP expressway

AYE – Ayer Raja Expressway. This expressway is connected to ECP

PIE – Pan Island Expressway. The expressway running North-South of Singapore

KPE –Kallang-Paya Lebar Express. This is the longest underground expressway (as of year 2010) tunnel in Asia

CTE – Central Expressway. This expressway runs along the central part of Singapore

TPE – Tampines Expressway. This expressway runs along the northern part of Singapore

CBD – Central Business District. This is where all the financial intuitions are located

ERP – Electronic Road Pricing. This is a gantry system within the CBD where any vehicle entering will be charge a fee

Services
GST – Goods and Services tax. GST is the tax charge by the government for services render, example when eating in a restaurant, buying goods like cameras or clothing, or renting a car

VAT – Value Added Tax. This is usually 10% and is charge by the restaurants for services render

CESS - Cess is a tax of 1% levied on cessable items, such as hotel rooms and towel charges, sold by tourist establishments

CAAS – Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. The government organization that manages the Singapore air transportation hub, the Changi International Airport

10 most hated blog design

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 03:08:00 PST

When building your blog, it is important to have usability in mind. If the potential reader is irritated by the layout or design of your blog, they will not visit your blog again.

According to marketing gurus, you need to retain a reader within the first ten seconds; else you will lose this reader. Hence it is important to practice good blog design and branding.

When we design our blog, we take into consideration the 10 most hated blog design on our list:

Blog taking “donkey” minutes to load can be very frustrating. If a blog cannot get loaded within 1 minute without any valid reason (e.g. this is a photo blog, so it takes time),readers will usually try a reload (in case it is due to browser problem), and once it is confirm it is due to poor blog design, readers will move on to the next blog
Too many advertisements with too little contents. Bloggers hope to make money, but if more than 50% of the layout is filled with ads compare to the contents, this blog is out
Pop-up is one of the worst inventions on the internet. It is irritating, and makes the blog looks like a porn site
Preview or skip this ad is the next more irritating invention of the internet after pop-ups, especially if it takes up the whole screen, and the “skip this ad” button is slow to response
Background music can be nice, but sometimes it affected the loading speed. If the reader is enjoying his music on his computer while surfing the net, do you think the reader will be happy?
Large picture is nice but if it takes long time to load, then it became a problem
Some websites are design using flash. It is nice, but navigating them as it can be a pain (sorry Adobe, but this is the truth). Some sites use so much of the flash feature that the time taken to navigate each page can drive you crazy. The developer who design it must have run it from his local area network without any consideration for the internet users
Bad color combination and overwhelming design. Some blog designs are so bad that it is a pain to the eyes to navigate it as readers can get overwhelm by the design more than the content
Poor menu placement, resulting in poor navigation experience. Obviously, WordPress has more superior design features as compared to Blogger. For those using Blogger, well thought out tags name and layout is essential for a total user experience
Too much words, or the article is too long. If you are a very good writer, or if you are writing a novel on your blog, this does not apply. If not, it is a good practice to include pictures with words.

Do you have your own 10 most hated blog design? Share your thoughts with us.

Singapore Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 05:52:00 PST

Nestled in a housing estate in Toa Payoh is Singapore’s oldest Buddhist monastery, Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery.

Entrance to the monastery

Built according to the traditional Chinese courtyard layout – the Heyuan concept, its unique blend of architectural style (a bit of everything….Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou & Chaozhou) and historical value won it the status of a National Monument, the one and only monastery in Singapore to be gazetted.

Cheng Huang Temple

The Taoist Cheng Huang Temple is the first temple that will greet devotees and visitors.

The Lion statue that guards at the entrance of a Taoist temple

Inside the Cheng Huang Temple, visitors will find a variety of deities each serving a specific need of devotees.

Front wall of Cheng Huang Temple

Side wall of Cheng Huang Temple

Somewhere near the front wall is this interesting tower.....

Take a closer look and you will find that each flame-shaped 'container' contains name of devotee who has donated a specified sum of money to the temple.

Can you see the names written on a small slip of red-coloured paper?

Outside the temple, a mini pagoda-like urn serves the devotees' need to burn offerings to their deceased loved ones, ancestors or the deities.

Urn for burning

Moving on from the Cheng Huang Temple, we came to the Feature Gate / or main gateway into the monastery.

Feature Gate

The well-manicured courtyard presented a totally different atmosphere from the Cheng Huang Temple. It is tranquil & peaceful (despite being situated next to a busy highway). Stepping into this courtyard brought us a sense of calmness.

Pass this gate and we come to the Main Entrance of the monastery.

Main entrance of monastery

Roof of main entrance. The pagoda on the left (of picture) is one of the Eight Spiritual Pagodas

There are a total of eight Spiritual Pagodas, four on each side guarding the the main entrance.

Main door of main entrance leading into the inner courtyard

Hall of Celestial Kings

The first hall in the courtyard is the Hall of Celestial Kings. Oh, do take note if removal of shoes is required before entering each of the halls.

Walking along the corridors, the intricate ceiling is itself an art piece.

Each of the roof of the halls are decorated slightly different, some with dragons (like the one above), others with snakes etc. So, do look out for them.

Next to the Hall of Celestial Kings is the Bell Tower.

Behind this giant bell lies the Reclining Buddha.

Reclining Buddha

Isn't this white reclining Buddha beautiful? So peaceful.

Continued on to the Hall of Three Saints and the Ritual Hall bring us to the end of the monastery's courtyard, where the Dragon Light Pagoda (Long Guang Bao Ta) sits.

Dragon Light Pagoda (Long Guang Bao Ta)

The Dragon Light Pagoda is the icon of Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery. Unfortunately, it was under repair when we visited.

Close-up of top of pagoda

Singapore Bottle Tree Park

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:03:00 PST

It was a sunny day…..good weather great mood….hubby is celebrating my birthday with a visit to this park that we have never been to…..the Bottle Tree Park. Singapore is a cosmopolitan city. But, we have a rural side too. It always excites us to be able to escape city life even for just a day!!

Bottle Tree Park & Village was established in 2004 by a group of nature enthusiast. The park is so named for the 6 Bottle Trees that grew on its ground.

If you are getting puzzled on this ‘bottle’ tree thingy…..read on….

After driving along a quiet lovely road,

we finally came to the first park; the Bottle Tree Village.

Here is how a Bottle tree looks

Well, we are not going to dwell too much on the bio of the bottle tree (if you are a plant enthusiast, just googled for more info). In a nutshell, the Bottle tree (or Brachychiton Rupestris) is a native of Queensland, Australia renowned for its unique swollen trunk. It is a hardy plant that can withstand temperature from - 10 to 50 Degree Celsius. And, it cost the owners of Bottle Tree Park S$100,000 to bring 6 of these trees into Singapore.

This is the smaller of the 2 parks, with just a tiny pond and a seafood restaurant.

But the lack of facilities also makes it a nice place to escape the hustle of city life and enjoy seafood by the sea with your family and friends. A good hideaway.

From here, we took another short drive to the larger park, the Bottle Tree Park.

It has a garden grown with Bottle trees (of course) and some other sculptures. Nice place to sit around to read, picnic or simply laze around.

Enough of lazing around, you have the choice of going for a fish spa (soaking your legs in a hot bath tub filled with tiny fishes that will eat off those dead skin cells on our tired legs) or try your hand at prawn fishing!

Pond next to the prawn farm....for viewing.....not fishing

After all the activities, time for food. While the choice is not unlimited, there is a good mix of seafood, Japanese cuisine, barbeque food and a beer garden.

So, kick back and relax!

Singapore Burmese Buddhist Temple

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:28:49 PDT

There are many temples in Singapore but we only came to know of this beautifully architectured Burmese temple when we visited Wan Qing Yuan (or Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall). It was a joke (kind of) to us since we grew up in Singapore, and at one stage thronged this street, Balestier Road almost every weekend searching for materials to renovate our 'nest'.

The Maha Sasana Ramsi Burmese Buddhist Temple, built in 1875, is the first and only Burmese Buddhist temple built outside of Myanmar in the traditional Burmese architectural style.

The exterior of the temple is decorated with lots of intricate wood (think it is Burmese teak) carvings and other interesting design.

Besides its Burmese architecture, this temple also houses the largest white marble Buddha image outside of Myanmar.

Statue of white marble Buddha in main hall

Lots of details went into decorating the main altar

Impressive handiwork for the frame of the altar

At one corner (near to the main altar) is a monk who will pray over believers seeking for blessings. Donation is optional. If you do wish to donate, just clip your dollar note to the 'tree'.

See the dollar notes?

However, we were not sure if this way of donation is the culture of the Burmese Buddhist temple or was the tree only there temporarily for a special occasion when we visited.

Proceeding to the 3rd floor of the temple, visitors will find a wall illustrating the painstaking journey to transport the 11 feet high, 10-tonne marble image of Buddha from Burma to Singapore.

Even the interior of the temple is decorated with intricate wood carvings

Here on this level are more finely made images of Buddha.

The serenity of the temple makes it a great place to rest and momentarily detach ourselves from the hustle and bustle of the world outside.

Having rested (spiritually), if you have not yet visited Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall (or Wan Qing Yuan), then move on to next door to trace the footstep of Dr Sun, the founding father of Republican China and have an insight of the revolution of China.

Finally, before making your way to Novena Church (which is just round the corner....about 15 minutes walk), drop by a a nostalgic coffee shop for a coffee break over their must-try Tau Sar Piah (a type of local pastry).

Digital Camera Settings and Storage Table

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:36:00 PST

As we were planning for our trip to Spain in Nov 2010, we were wondering if the memory in our digital camera is sufficient. After some research, we manage to obtain a table that can tell us the memory and storage requirements.

MP (megapixel) setting:
A: Will give you GOOD quality prints at:
B: Will give you BETTER quality prints at:
C: Will give you BEST quality prints at:

	A	B	C
1MP	5" x 7"	4" x 6"	Wallet
2MP	8" x 10"	5" x 7"	4" x 6"
3MP	8" x 10"	8" x 10"	5" x 7"
4MP	11" x 14"	8" x 10"	5" x 7"
5MP	11" x 14"	11" x 14"	5" x 7"
6-7MP	16" x 20"	11" x 14"	8" x 10"
8MP	17" x 22"	16" x 20"	8" x 10"
10MP	20" x 30"	17" x 22"	11" x 14"

Camera megapixels

A: # of images on a 128MB memory card
B: # of images on a 256MB memory card
C: # of images on a 512MB memory card
D: # of images on a 1GB memory card

	A	B	C	D
4MP	91–100	171-189	362-400	724-800
5MP	70-78	141-157	283-313	565-625
6MP	57-63	113-125	226-250	452-500
8MP	38-42	75-83	151-167	301-333

Singapore Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall (Wan Qing Yuan)

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:24:00 PDT

Having always wanted to visit Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall (also known as Wan Qing Yuan 晚晴园) yet never seems to have the time due to work, we finally made our visit before it closes for restoration and renovation works (the push factor for us!).

Wan Qing Yuan is the abode and revolutionary base of Dr Sun Yat Sen （孙中山）, the founding father of Republican China, during his stay in Singapore in 1906.

Summary of history of Wan Qing Yuan (see below for English version)

Summary of the history of Wan Qing Yuan

As we roamed around the small courtyard, besides admiring the wide variety of tropical fruit trees planted by Dr Sun (wow....didn't know he is a fruit lover like us!), we were also inspired by one of his most famous quote...（天下为公）meaning "universal harmony".

On the reverse side of this stone that measures 3.5 metres tall is how the Senior Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew (former Prime Minister) describes Dr Sun during his interview with Time Magazine…."One Man Change China, Dr Sun Yat Sen" (孙中山一个改变中国命运的人）

Miniature Great Wall of China at the foot of the stone

At one corner of the garden is this Tree of the Martyrs.

This tree is the offspring of the original tamarind tree that Dr Sun grew in China (the seedling was brought back from Hawaii) for his mother.

One of surrounding walls of the villa is full of intricate carvings.

During World War II, this villa was used by the Japanese as a Japanese Communication Centre and Kempeitai branch.

Leftovers from WWII

This villa was originally built in 1900 by a wealthy businessman for his beloved mistress. Years later, it was acquired by a rubber magnate for his aged mother and renamed Wan Qing Yuan, which symbolizes peace and happiness in his mother’s twilight years. In 1906, the villa was offered to Dr Sun for his revolutionary activities.

Life-size statue of Dr. Sun Yat Sen

The first floor of the villa illustrates the history of Wan Qing Yuan.

Dr Sun with his revolutionary comrades

Child statue of Dr Sun

Dr Sun and the Qing Dynasty (China's last dynasty)

On the 2nd floor, we traces the family background and life journey of Dr Sun including the many famous quotes of his.

On his maiden voyage on a steamship to Hawaii to join his eldest brother and to study, Dr Sun exclaimed the miracle of the steamship, the vastness of the sea.....and it is believed that this was where the revolution began in his mind.

During his revolution, Dr Sun spoke of his objective for and aspiration of the revolution.

The above is translated as "The objective of the revolution is to save China, such that freedom and equality is enjoyed by the people and not just the warlords, and also the equality that China will enjoy on the world stage.”

United to save our country

Oath of Allegiance from the Restoration Society

One of the meetings held in Wan Qing Yuan

Summary of Dr Sun's failed revolution.

The Nanyang Gallery (on the 2nd floor) is dedicated to the many Chinese people from Malaya who sacrificed their lives and fortunes for the cause. Here, you will find this huge 6m x 3m oil painting named "Overseas Chinese - Mother of the Revolution".

Picture shows Dr Sun and his revolutionary comrades from the Tong Meng Hui (later Kuomintang) propagating his cause to the tin miners, rubber tappers and farmers in Malaya.

After this historic journey, how about some spiritual inspiration at Wan Qing Yuan's neighbour, the Maha Sasana Ramsi Burmese Buddhist Temple. Not only is this the first and only Burmese Buddhist temple built outside of Myanmar in the traditional Burmese architectural style, it also houses the largest white marble Buddha image outside of Myanmar.

Thereafter, head towards the main road (Balestier Road) for a coffee break at one of the nostalgic, must-try Tau Sar Piah (a type of local pastry) shop before taking a 15 minutes walk to Novena Church.

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Thailand - Bangkok and Ayutthaya Day 3 and 4

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 06:18:00 PST

It was gonna be an exciting day......we were going to Ayutthaya, a much anticipated trip....can't wait!!

Ruins of Phra Maha That Temple

Ayutthaya, Thailand's 2nd capital from AD1350 to 1767, a total of 417 years under the reign of 33 kings over 5 dynasties, was officially declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 13 December 1991.

Climbing up this centerpiece is tough....the narrow steps and steep incline makes climbing scary....as if we were gonna fall off the stair anytime! It was built exactly the same way as Angkor Wat.

Tough it may be, but the reward is a splendid view of the temple ground and its surrounding.

Over the years, tomb raiders have stolen almost all the heads of these Buddha statues and sold them as antiques for high profit. Nevertheless, due to tight crackdown by the Thai government, many replica has emerged in the market where unscrupulous merchants tried to pass off as the Real McCoy and sell them at exorbitant prices. Should you decide to buy a piece, always make sure that there are official papers to allow its export.

Each row of headless Buddha statues leads to a Buddha, like the one in the picture below.

Thinking that these 2 statues were spared their heads? Nope.....these are 'New' heads!

Though the temple was in ruins, walking the compound and among the ruins brought a sense of peace and tranquility, it was as if we were lost in history, in another mystical world.

With that spiritual fullness, we went on to the ruins of the royal residence where the kings used as summer retreats. But, instead of walking the ground, we had our first elephant ride.

Being our first, it was scary. The height and the movement takes a little getting use to before
we settled down to enjoy the ride.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet, a major temple in the Royal Palace compound

After our ride, we went for our basis elephant education and understand the role of elephants in Thailand's history at Elephant Kraal. Elephants are highly respected in Thailand as they were the animals that fought with and for them during their numerous war against the Burmese in the early centuries.

There can be only One king (leader) in the herd.

That's the boss......leader of the herd.

Feeding time.....we also get to feed the mama elephants with their favourite food....sugar cane.

That's my good girl.....I mean the elephant

While feeding the elephants, we need to have steady hands when their trunk takes the food from us so as not to scare them. Also, very important.....stay away while they eat least you want to get dirtied by their leftover food (they'll 'splash' out the leftover or non-edible part).

Feeding is over.....it's play time with the babies...

Look at the small trunk that this future leader has. Its hair is short and spiky....pricky to the touch

Before lunch, we visited another limited edition.....one of the ONLY 5 Stone Buddha statue in the world.

What a stark contrast! Somehow, though the place that houses the stone Buddha is small and dirty, the stone statue felt more spiritual than the gold-plated one.

After lunch, we cruise around Ayutthaya in a longtailed boat.

The water does splash up occasionally, but is fun and we saw Ayutthaya from another angle

Ruins of Phra Maha That Temple

Petch Fortress

Petch Fortress is the only remaining fortress out of the 5 in Ayutthaya, each measuring 5 metre thick. They were destroyed by a huge fire set by the Burmese army in 1767, which burnt for 3 days and 3 nights.

Every September, the water level will rise another 2.5 metres from the current water level, flooding this and many other houses built along the river.

It was a breezy day....great for cruising this historical city. If only we can row our own boat, it would add some romance into the mystical air that surrounds this place.

Our final stop before heading back to Bangkok city is the ruins of Wat Chaiwatthanaram Temple.

Another headless Buddha statue.....

Here.....we found the head!!!

Talk of tree 'hugging' the temple in Ta Prohm, shooting site of Tomb Raider; here in Ayutthaya they have the tree 'hugging' the head of the Buddha statue!

It was said that when the head was accidentally chopped off from the statue, it rolled over to the foot of this tree and left unnoticed. After many years, the roots of the tree enveloped the head as they grow. Out of superstition, the head was spared being smuggled and sold off.

What a lucky day! While we were about to board our bus to head back to Bangkok, a group of dancers and a monk were preparing themselves for a prayer session. Of course, all of us requested to stay for this rare sight.....a 'real' prayer, not an entertainment show!

With these prayer, we wrapped up our short trip to Ayutthaya. If only we had more time, Ayutthaya, though laid back, is a nice place to roam around and explore. It is a big contrast to the city life that we were part of.

Since it was only late afternoon, we took the skytrain to The Emporium, a shopping centre which houses Bangkok's international designers. It is a nice place but we prefer the Pathum Wan area for their wide variety of products at better prices. We visited Mah Boon Krong (MBK), Tokyu Departmental Store, Siam Discovery Center and the streets along these shopping malls. If you are a Disney fan, do check out the huge Disney shop situated along the street of Siam Center. It is tough shopping but the satisfaction of buying items at prices lower than back home more than compensated for our hard work!

We had our dinner at the food court on the 6th floor of MBK. We were instantly lost in the wide variety of food offered, but only for a short while. We've locked in our target.....the yummy beef noodles (this store is one of the most popular in Bangkok, so expects long queue) and the cheap, delicious and huge dessert (we had 3 different types of dessert at one go)!

Just outside the food court (or maybe on the 5th floor), there's a stall that sells authentic Thai snacks. There are too many to name. We bought 2 bags full of almost all the variety to share with family and friends back home....only one word to describe....YUMMY!!

We head back to Arima Onsen for massage before calling it a night. After so much walking, weight carrying (the shopping bags) and the lack of sleep, the cheap massage was God sent. Our muscles (even muscles we never knew we had) were aching badly....every steps we took was a pain.

DAY 4
We had purposely stayed over the weekend in Bangkok so as to visit Chatuchak Weekend Market. It is a HUGE market with almost anything and everything under the sun for sale. As there are too many shops and stalls, it is extremely cramped, crowded, stuffy (not much ventilation) and humid. There are some drink and food stalls. But, you probably only have time for a quick bite given the large scale of the market to explore! We were there when the market opens (around 9 or 10am) till 4pm when it closes, and still we did not manage to cover everything. Things are cheap but don't bargain too hard like in Patpong Night Market......unless you want to get some nasty look and scolding from the stallholers. We travelled there in the skytrain but back to the hotel in cab.....and we started wondering how were we going to fit everything into our luggage!!

It was a fruitful and fulfilling trip, and we would definitely be back again to explore this interesting city.

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(Site A: Bangkok; Site B: Ayutthaya)

Thailand - Bangkok and Ayutthaya Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 01:57:00 PST

Today, we kick start our day early to beat the crowd at The Grand Palace which is about 15 minutes walk from the South gate of Wat Pho.

The Grand Palace (or Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang) is an exact replica of Thailand's 2nd capital, Ayutthaya.

Now, the palace is no longer in use by the king except for certain ceremonial occasions such as Coronation Day and is closed to public. But the interesting compound is worth exploring.

Left - Phra Siratana Chedi; Right - Phra Mondop

Miniature Angkor Wat

Built in 1782, The Grand Palace houses not only the royal residence and throne halls, but also a number of government offices as well as the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

The Dusit Group - Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall

Side view of Dusit Maha Prasat Hall. The intricate design of the roof is an architecture beauty

Rajkaranyasapha Hall

Wat Phra Kaeo, the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha built on the compound of The Grand Palace, is one of the most venerated sites in Thailand. The small green-jade statue of Buddha is the most sacred Buddha image in Thailand. Three times a year, the King will preside over the ceremony to clad the sacred image with one of the three seasonal costumes (summer, rainy season and winter). The images were away in another temple for some restoration work or ceremony......so we didn't get to see them.....what a waste!!

Exterior wall of Wat Phra Kaeo

Exterior wall of Wat Phra Kaeo. The garudas depicted are conquering the snake, which is a symbol of evil

After experiencing the grandiose of The Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, we moved on to the world largest golden teakwood building, Vimanmek Mansion Museum which was King Chulalongkorn's celestial residence (entrance fee is included in the Grand Palace ticket). It is located way out of the main tourist area, so took us quite a bit of effort to get there....took a water taxi to another dock, change to bus, walk another 25 minutes from the bus stop to finally reach the place.....then it started to rain! What a spoilsport.

But hey, not that bad yet.....at least we get to see this bridge, Rama VIII Bridge (quite similar to Penang Bridge).

This part of the mansion is where it all begun at the Vimanmek Mansion Museum. The free 1-hour guided tour provides insights to the life of the king and the function of the various rooms. Of the 72 rooms, only 31 of them are opened as museum.

It was built in 1868 as a summer house on the island of Ko Si Chang before moving to the Dusit Palace in 1901. Though European style in look, it was built according to Thai tradition, using golden teak wood and no nails at all.

Where King Rama V resides. It is a popular place for graduation photography.

The neatly spruced garden compound is great for a good stroll after the rain. Since this was where the king lived, there would also be places for entertainment and work.

Place for entertaining

Office building

Office building....looks more like a holiday resort!!

The surrounding of the museum is a serene residential and school area, so we headed back to the city center for our daily doses of shopping, bargaining, good food and massage!!

We thronged Bangkok's famous night markets the whole night. Patpong market offers a wide variety of counterfeit products, mainly ladies handbags....most popular ones are Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci. There are also stalls selling cheap jeans and T-shirts. The products are not really cheap considering their qaulity but the bars and night clubs added lots of colours, fun and vibrancy to the place.

After our massage at Arima Onsen (cheap and good), we proceed to Suan Lum market. The market is separated into 2 sections. One part is a huge covered food court with live bands nightly. The other part is where all the stores are. The products here are of better quality compared to Patpong, and most of the shop owners being young adults, the products are more interesting and creative.

Whichever it is, just make sure we bargain hard (slash 50% off for a start!). Hmm....our maiden bargaining experience......not too bad....but there is still room for improvements!

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(Site A: The Grand Palace ; Site B: Rama VII Bridge;
Site C: Vimanmek Mansion Museum;
Site D: Patpong market)

The Hidden Tiger Puzzle

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:14:00 PST

This is the toughest optical illusion created by an American wildlife artist Rusty Rust, that shows a huge Bengal Tiger standing in a bamboo forest. Your mission is to look for "The Hidden Tiger" in the image below.

Click on the "Read More" link below to find the answers.

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Answer: "THE HIDDEN TIGER" is written on the tiger's body!

Thailand - Bangkok and Ayutthaya Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 06:14:00 PST

Having often heard from friends lamenting on the good food, cheap shopping and cheap and authentic Thai massage there, it didn't rub off on us to plan a holiday there until Adelina went there a couple of times on business trips. After first hand experience of the vibrancy of Bangkok, it became our target for our next short trip.

In July 2005, we were looking for a half yearly break and the opportunity came when we saw an airticket promotion by Jetstar Asia where we paid only S$100 per person with all taxes included. Our good luck prevailed and we got our room at the 5-star Sofitel Silom Bangkok at just S$100 per room per night with buffet breakfast, daily fruit platter and a drink for two at their bar located on the 37th floor.

Sofitel Silom indeed lived up to the good name of the Sofitel brand. Our room on the 15th floor possesses good view and it was very clean, cosy and spacious. The buffet breakfast offers extensive selection of delicious food. We enjoyed the breakfast thoroughly. We had a relaxing evening sipping our wine at the bar on the 37th floor while enjoying the fantastic view of Bangkok city.

View of Bangkok at dusk

We took the earliest flight there in order not to waste every single opportunity to savour authentic Thai food. Being unfamiliar with the place, we started our orientation along the riverside since it is the nearest to our hotel. At one of the shopping mall along the riverside, we had our first delicious Thai lunch right next to Chao Praya River. Till today, we couldn't forget the fried chilli prawn that we had for lunch.

Besides the notorious traffic jam, Bangkok is famous for its water taxi.....we couldn't wait to try it. There is a water-taxi dock just 10 minutes walk away from the shopping mall where we had lunch. We hopped on one to go to our first destination, Wat Pho (it is the easiest and most direct route there).

This 'train' of boats were transporting sands

Yippy......our first boat ride......it's cheap and fun! Don't worry that you might get lost. There is a boat conductor on board to collect the fares and announce the name of the next dock (just let her know in advance where you are heading and the friendly conductor will signal to you when the boat approaches your stop....which was what we did).

It only took us 20 minutes to reach our stop. After alighting at this busy (and very crowded) dock, we realised that there wasn't any signboard to direct us to Wat Pho. While trying to orientate ourselves, we caught sight of our moving GPS....a group of tourists. On our way to the temple, a well-dressed sincere-looking man approached us asking if we were heading to the temple. After which, we were told that we were very unlucky as the temple is closed for the king's birthday celebration. Seeing our surprised and disappointed expression, he immediately offered us another destination where there is cheap quality buys and a huge celebration for the king with beautiful fireworks. At this, we knew exactly what we were into. We...unlucky? Ha ha ha.....he was the unlucky one instead! We did our homework before our trip to Bangkok and have already being warned by fellow travellers on such hoax. Instead of cheap quality buys, there is only poor quality products at exorbitant prices.

After walking for another 5 minutes, we reached Wat Pho (or Wat Phra Chetuphon), the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. It is the oldest and largest Wat in Bangkok, built in the 16th century during the Ayutthaya period.

these 4 large Chedis commemorate the first 3 Chakri kings of Thailand (King Rama III has 2 chedis)

91 smaller Chedis

At the northern part of the Wat features the largest reclining Buddha measuring 46 metres long and 15 metres high, finished in gold leaf for the body and mother-of-pearl for the eyes. Behind the reclining Buddha lie a row of 108 bronze bowls where devotees and visitors drop 1-satang coin into each of the bowls for good luck.

Dropping 1-satang coin into the 108 bronze bowls

In addition to housing the largest reclining Buddha, the Wat also has the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand.

One of the many Buddha images in the Wat

Not only is Wat Pho the oldest Wat in Bangkok, it is also the earliest centre for public education and the leading school for Thai massage. The massage here is really cheap, but be prepared to lie in the open hall together with many others there for massage. We didn't give it a try.....the atmosphere is just not right.....looks more like a make-shift first-aid zone!

Walking back to the dock that we alighted was a bit of challenge as we left Wat Pho from a different gate. After navigating through a market, school, small village and food centre (took us more than double the time we took to walk from the dock to the Wat), we finally reached the dock....phew!!

On our boat ride back, we visited Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. The boat docked (almost) at its entrance.

The centerpiece tower of the temple is 260 foot high, thus the central balcony is an ideal spot for great view of the Grand Palace and Temple of Emerald Buddha.....with some effort though as the steps are very treacherous. The temple was closed for the day when we visited (too late), but we did manage to capture the best view of the centerpiece.....which is at sunset.....looks like it is glowing!

Back at our hotel, the first thing we did was to book our side trip to Ayutthaya, Thailand's 2nd capital. We did many research to eventually determine that going via a tour is the most economical, easiest and informational. It cost Baht 1,700 per person (3 hours trip) including bus transport (pick up from our hotel lobby), buffet lunch, all entrance fees, a guide, elephant ride and boat ride around the ancient city.

After some rest to recharge our energy (the humidity zapped most of our energy within just half a day), we make our way to Bangrak Market (behind Shangri-La Hotel), a compact and unique meander. Thereafter, took the skytrain to the popular shopping belt to check out on prices (urhem....ladies....the bras are cheap....so are the jeans) and have dinner.

Since massage is cheap here, how can we miss it? We found one massage parlour just 10 minutes walk from our hotel and operates till 1am! Oh, always check that the shop has the word 'traditional massage' on it. This means that they are genuine....won't want to end up in some sleezy place. Verdict....the massage was really good.....can feel our muscles loosening!!! Got to have it again tomorrow, the day after and after......

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(Site A: Wat Pho; Site B: Wat Arun; Site C: Bangrak Market)

Rip-off by Delta Airlines

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:40:00 PST

We experienced a horrible surprise while preparing for our trip to Spain and Portugal.

Intending to use our SkyMiles to exchange for hotel accommodation for our trip to Spain in November 2010, we checked Delta SkyMiles webpage in June / July 2010 to shortlist possible hotels. When we were ready to book the hotels in end August 2010, we found to our horror, Delta Airlines has just increased their SkyMiles of the hotels that we have shortlisted by almost THREE times! The hotel that Skymiles charges 6000 points 1 month ago now cost more than 15,000 points! We couldn't believe our eyes that such a reputable international airline would have done such thing.

Given the millions of dollars worth of SkyMiles owned by Delta Airlines customers, Delta Airlines had just reduced their Skymiles liability by 3 times through some simple programming tricks! What a way to do business!

When we wrote to Delta Airlines to enquire and voice our displeasure, their attitude was....oh, too bad. Delta Airlines must be quite shock that we knew about their "secret" increase.

Here is the official email reply from Delta on 28 Aug 2010.

"Our goal is to provide the highest possible standard of service in all areas of our operation, and we regret that we did not meet your expectations on this occasion. We monitor performance throughout our company, and your comments will be very helpful.

Please accept our apology for the unfavorable impression you received in this instance. We appreciate your selection of Delta and will always consider it a privilege to be of service."

After this bad experience, Delta Airlines will be the last choice on our list....unless there isn't any other airlines left in this world, we will not consider Delta Airlines at all. Since their business model is to rip consumers off using underhand method, Delta does not deserve our patronage.

PS: On 3 Sep 2010, we were checking on a hotel that we would like to exchange with Skymiles, and the miles required just jumped from 15,000 to 20,000 within 5 days! Talk about listening to customer's feedback!

Saving money on overseas calls

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 23:40:33 PST

It is our practice to call home whenever we travel, once when we touched down at our destination and mid-way through the journey (for trips that are more than 2 weeks), to set our family at ease and to take in any last minute orders!!

To minimize our overseas calling cost, we either use the call-back services or IDD calling card. Even then, the cost can still be substantial and we have to limit our talking times to just a few minutes to avoid incurring even higher costs.

Thank goodness to the advancement of technology, and the proliferation of free Wi-Fi connection in most hotels, we now have the option to call home using the Internet, which cuts down our overseas call charges by more than half!

So for trip to Spain and Portugal Nov 2010, we purchased a Nokia X6 (you can use any handphone that has the Internet capability) to enable us to log-on to the Internet from our hotel room via WiFi.

We then sign up with Skype, the most popular Internet call provider. In order to have the options to make Internet calls to a mobile phone or land-line, we will need to sign up a package with Skype. Skpye provides 2 packages:

Package 1:
Buy a US$10 credit with Skype. The credit will be deducted on a per use basis. On top of that, there is a connecting charge for each call. Comparing to Package 2, this plan has a higher per minute charge.

Package 2:
Subscribe to a 3 months, 60-min per month call-time package. Total package cost - US$3.27.

After evaluating the cost and benefits, we decided that Package 2 is the better deal for us.

We have up to 60 mins call-time per month, which is more than sufficient to call home for a chat! If you are a heavy user, Skype also has a higher package.
The per minute charges is lower, and there is no connection fees which means we can call as many times as we want

Tips and Tricks
Here is a little trick when signing up for Skype.

Our travel is from 2 Nov - 26 Nov 2010. So we sign up one month before the mid-point of our travel (13 Nov 2010), which is around 13 Oct 2010.
So from 13 Oct - 12 Nov, we will have 60 min call time, and from 13 Nov - 26 Nov, we have another 60 min call time.
In total we have 120 min call time during the duration of our trip.

After we have signed up the package with Skype, we immediately terminate our subscription as all subscription is defaulted to auto-renew. The termination will not affect the current subscription which will run for 3 months from the date of sign-up.

Initial (UAT) Test
After signing up the Skype subscription, it is advisible to perform a test call to a mobile phone or land-line while you are still in your home country to ensure that everything is working fine before travelling.

When we did our initial test, we can hear our counter party, but our counter party was not able to hear us. After some research, we corrected the error by re-installing Skype and the problem was resolved.

Our Verdict
While it definitely saved us a huge chunk of money on overseas calling, the call quality is far from satisfactory. When we called from Spain to Singapore, counter party can hardly hear us as there are a lot of echoes and interferences.

Because the Nokia X6 is a touch screen phone, we had to talk using the speaker in order not to accidentally touch on the "End Call" option with our cheek as we have to press the phone very tightly to our ears to talk due to the interferences. While it helps not ending the call, the speaker further deteriorates the call quality. Of course, this problem (which we did not anticipate) can be easily solved by using a hands-free set.

We also realised that the call quality when we call to a mobile phone using Skype is extremely bad. It is almost impossible to talk! Call made to a land-line has better results.

For the poor call quality that we experienced, we suspect that it could be due to lack of processing power of our mobile phone. Maybe an iPhone with its better processor might do better.

Finally, the trouble of finding a Wifi connection is the other major minus point for using Skype.

Despite the low cost, the poor quality and hassle of finding a strong WIFI connection means we are on the road again to search for another better alternative.

If you have experience using Skype, or have a good alternative to recommend, do share with us! We'd love to hear from you.

Malaysia - Cameron Highlands Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 01:51:00 PST

We had a relaxing day exploring Cameron Highlands starting with the Butterfly Garden.

The Butterfly Garden is separated into 2 section, an open garden grown with a variety of flowers and an enclosed area where visitors can view the butterflies at close range.

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A shrub covered with huge butterflies

Besides the large butterflies, there are these as well......

In the open garden, because of the climate, the flowers have bright colours and are large!

Think it is photo trick? Here's the comparison.....

See.....the hibiscus is bigger than my face!!!!

Apart from the living butterflies, at the far end of the garden is a small museum showcasing the various types of butterflies and insects that can be found in Cameron Highlands.

It is noon now. Since we had a heavy breakfast, we went for tea at the BOH Tea Centre.

BOH Tea is a major tea manufacturer in Malaysia with tea plantations spanning the whole of Cameron Highlands. At the BOH Tea Centre (Sungei Palas), visitors can enjoy a cup of tea at the balcony of the cafe and soak in the tranquility of the vast tea plantation.

Otherwise, join the tour to know more about the manufacturing process of Boh tea.

Sorting the tea leaves

Roasting of tea leaves

Drying of tea leaves

Finally, the tea leaves are ready for packing and distribution

After having tea, it is time for some fresh honey at the Bee Farm.

It is a big farm built on hilly terrain with beehives spreading all over compound.

Besides bees, do not miss out on the garden on the other side of the farm (away from the beehives). Not only are the flowers big and fresh, we found some interesting 'fruits'.

See the big fruit on top of pavilion? Don't know what fruit is that.

This funny looking fruit is called the Mermaid

After so much walking, we were ready for lunch. We went to the Century Pines Resort for lunch. As it is way pass the normal lunch hours, we were the only 2 customers in the restaurant. The food is delicious, the service excellent and the atmosphere relaxed. A good place to take a break.

Since we still have quite a fair bit of time left on hand, we drove to the other side of Cameron Highlands to explore further. We saw a narrow one-car only sandy road leading to a mountain, got curious and the next thing we knew, we were driving up this road. It ended with a pleasant surprise. At the end of this uphill road is another BOH Tea plantation cum cafe that gave a very different feel to the first one that we visited. Being away from the main tourist area, it is like a world lost in tea!

On our way down, we spotted a road leading to a valley. Looks interesting.....so we explored it too. Another pleasant surprise! It is a BOH Tea village where the workers of BOH Tea lives. The village is out-of-bound to outsiders but the BOH Chapel isn't. Too bad, it is closed.

Returning to the city center, we visited the Catholic church to pray for our safe journey only to find that it closed too!

Mary's Grotto at the main entrance to the compound of the church

Though we didn't get to pray at the churches, we're sure our efforts were 'seen'.

We walked around the small city center before having dinner in one of the Chinese 'restaurant' (it is really just an old, dirty coffee-shop). It is the worst dinner we had. The place is unhygienic, the food tasted horrible but charges as much as a hotel restaurant. It is plain extortion!

To get some consolation, we went over to Secret Recipe, a cafe for tea and cakes (the cakes are VERY reasonably priced) before heading to the night market to buy more fruits.

That ends our short getaway trip for the weekend.

What to wear and bring when boarding the plane

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:37:46 PST

For those of you following this blog, you may know that we have just returned from our trip to Spain & Portugal in end Nov 2010.

Compared to our previous travels, security checks have heightened tremendously this time round. Well, with increased terrorist activities, do we have a choice?

Here are some do's and don'ts that you may want to take note when clearing customs at the airport (won't want to miss the plane over some avoidable mistakes!):

Shoes
If are wearing boots or business shoes, you may be asked to remove it. In fact, all passengers wearing boots were asked to remove their boots at custom clearance. We saw a number of passengers wearing "plastic cover" on their feet while their shoes and boots were sent for scanning.

Pants, belts
For men, if you wear a belt, it is almost definite that you will be asked to remove it. If your pants have many metallic parts, it will (high chance) probably trigger the alarm, and you will need to go through a thorough body scan.

Skirts
Ladies who enjoy wearing ankle-length long skirts when boarding the plane, think again. We have witnessed many ladies in these attires having to go through a thorough body scan when crossing security.

Jackets
In order to hasten the custom clearing process, remove your jackets and outer coats for scanning. It has become almost a MUST now!

Watches, custom accessories, jewellerys
All these items will be asked to be removed for scanning at custom clearance. Thus, it would be advisable to minimize wearing the unnecessaries for your own conveniences.

Metal insertion in your body
If you have metal implants in your body due to an injuries, gets your verification documents ready! Read more at Pre-Travel Tips.

Plain Water
During our transist at Frankfurt airport to Barcelona, we were required to clear airport security to enter the transist area.

We witnessed a passenger being stopped by custom security as he was carrying more than 1 litre of water in his bag (the allowed amount is 100ml in a 100ml container). The man claimed that he had filled up his water bottle while onboard the plane and it is plain drinking water. No luck for his bad move!

He was made to finish drinking the whole bottle of water before he was allowed to clear security. Pouring the water into a nearby flower pot or discarding his bottle of water with the custom was NOT an option! The direction was clear.....drink it or miss your flight! Luckily he managed to finish it.

So, if you're travelling to a foreign country for the first time and are not sure of the way the airport works, err on the right side.

Notebook and mobile phone
Be ready to remove your notebook and mobile phone from your bags for scanning. If your bag is locked, get it unlock first while waiting in the queue to save time. So many atimes, we tend to forget the combination lock number when we are under pressure to open it.

Passport
We used our new biometric passports for this trip as our old passports had just expired. But, we brought along our old passports as they comes with many custom stamps, while our new passports are a blank.

It may be troublesome to bring 2 passport, an old and a new. But, should there be security doubts over our new passports, we would be able to explain or at least support our explanation with our old passports.

What to wear?
With so many dos and don'ts and the increased security checks, what is THE recommended wear?

It is no longer advisable to dress up to the ninth for a flight. A simple polo T-shirt, track pants, and a pair of flat soles shoes (or track shoes) is the 'new' fashion statement for taking a flight now! Not only is this attire comfortable, it only saves you a lot of unnecessary hassles when clearing customs. We had a very smooth and easy time clearing customs because we were simply dressed.

All in all, in addition to sensible dressing, always practice safety and common sense to avoid unnecessary inconveniences and the possibility of unwanted detention when travelling. Read our guest posting by Christina and Marcus on the Importance of vigilance when travelling overseas.

Malaysia - Cameron Highlands Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 07:10:01 PST

As it was a long weekend, we took this opportunity to have a short escape from Singapore's sweltering hot weather. Some where that is near and yet with a cool climate means looking toward Malaysia's highlands. Having been to Genting Highlands umpteen times, Cameron Highlands became THE choice.

We 'flagged' off from our home around 6am to beat the traffic jam (normally starts around 7.30am) expected at the Tuas Causeway. Besides, it will be cooler for most part of our journey.

We knew of friends who travelled throughout the night so as to avoid the heat, heavy traffic along Malaysia's North-South Highway and to save time (so that they can start their tour first thing in the morning!). For us, driving to the destination is itself a joy. As for the heat and traffic, they are just not good enough reason for us to compromise our safety. Driving in the night on Malaysia's North-South Highway means driving in pitch-dark condition as there aren't any street lamps. Adding to the hazardous condition are the many lorries, tour buses and trucks that plough the same route. Furthermore, there aren't any coffee shops to grab a coffee for that much needed boost!

Continuing our journey, we reached our first usual pit-stop which is at the 150km mark. Time for breakfast! There is this cafe cum convenient store just next to the carpark that serves delicious nasi-lemak (actually it is the rendang chicken that draws us back). The rendang sauce is done to perfection.....spicy, smooth and at the right thickness. It is the best that we have had so far. The convenient store and the nearby hawker centre meant it is time to stock up tit-bits for munching while we conquer the distances. Oh, we also make sure we clear our bladders at these pit-stops. We have made mistake by using the toilets at pit-stops that do not have any food outlets. One verdict - apply lots of fragrance oil before entering and don't look when inside the toilet. Just the few minutes inside the toilets.....we almost fainted! Of course the other concern is safety....very quiet so easy target for robbers.

After a few more stops, we finally reached the foot of Cameron Highland around 3pm. There are 2 roads to go up to the highlands.

View Larger Map

The nearer one is to enter via Taman Tapah (Road 59) - point B on map. This road is narrower and more treacherous, but also more fun. Wear your band if you tend to have motion-sickness.

Waterfall at foot of mountain

The first sight that greeted us after entering via Taman Tapah is this waterfall. Being a weekend, it was quite crowded with families. The water is cold and refreshing......great for refreshing after the long drive. Near the waterfall are road-side stalls selling tropical fruits and local snacks like goreng pisang (fried banana fritters), fried chempedak (cempedak is a type of fruit that taste just as good without frying) and fried sweet potatoes (our favourite). Fried upon ordering......crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.....we had a light lunch to save our stomach for these goodies.....yummy yummy!! After this point, there isn't any more 'distractions' till we reached the summit.

If driving narrow, treacherous road is not for you, then enter via Kampong Tanjong (Road A181) - point C on map, which is about 20km away from Taman Tapah. The road is wider (2 lane on either way) and well-paved. There are still quite a number of bents, but are not as sharp as those at Taman Tapah. These said, it takes a shorter time to reach the summit.

Once up at the summit via the second route, we were attracted by a cafe cum plantation.

Yes, we were attracted by the huge, red strawberries that they were selling, especially the chocolate-coated strawberries! The sweetness of chocolate blended nicely with the slight sour taste of strawberry. Divine!

Due to cool climate, there are many strawberry plantations. Needless to say, this cafe has one too.

The strawberry plantation here is very different from the ones that we have visited in Australia where the strawberries are planted on the ground. Whichever way, we are going to feast on strawberries for the rest of our days here!

We stayed at the Cameron Highlands Hotel, the best 5* resort on Cameron Highlands. It is situated directly opposite the Cameron Highlands Golf Course. Being on the main road network, it is easily spotted.

We had a room on the 2nd level. It is a huge room with poster bed and a small living area plus balcony with view of the mountains and golf course. The bathroom is large too.

View from balcony......mountain with fog

View from balcony......golf course

Besides the comfortable rooms, the common area of the hotel is also full of character.

Relax in the cosy reading room heated with real fireplace

Enjoy a sumptuous afternoon tea at this bright and light-hearted lounge overlooking the golf course

There is also a romantic dining room that serves western cuisines. The menu looks good but we prefer the night market which starts between 8 to 9pm.

The night market is just 10 minutes drive away from our hotel. Food stalls took up more than half of the stalls there, followed by vegetables and fruits (the passion fruits are quite cheap) stalls. There is also an interesting stall that sells honey straight from the beehives. It is a day of snacks and more snacks for us. We tried a few interesting snacks but loved the fried squids most.

With that, we called it a day to re-energize ourselves for more excursion tomorrow.

Holy Land - Jordan, Israel, Egypt Day 13

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 07:18:00 PST

It is the last day of our trip to Holy Land and we had a very relaxing day.....shopping and cruising the Nile River.

We kick start our day with daily mass in a Catholic Church followed by visiting a Greek Orthodox church. As usual....photography not allowed.

Thereafter, we visited a large perfume store where we were introduced to the different scents and pure essential oils used to make perfume. The store claimed that Egypt has the purest essential oils which they wholesale to international brands like RaIph Lauren, Estee Launder etc for the manufacturing of their specific perfumes. Frankly speaking, we didn't really buy into that. However, according to group members who loved perfumes, though the essential oils were expensive, it is still cheaper to buy these essential oils and have the store concoct the specific perfume for you than to buy the perfume from the international brands. It seems logical to us since there is no "branding dollars" involved. Anyway, it really didn't matter to us. If you are not into perfume like us, time is still not wasted as there are wide variety of interesting perfume bottles that you might want to check out.

After this long shopping session, we proceed for lunch before dropping by a store that sells products made with Egyptian cotton. From our understanding, pure Egyptian cotton is supposedly very fine and soft. Thus, bedsheets and blankets made with Egyptian cotton cost a bomb. Since the shop is frequented by tourist, except for the T-shirts, the other items like bedsheets etc are expensive. Naturally, all of us grabbed the T-shirts. Nevertheless, we felt cheated after wearing the T-shirts for a couple of months. It can't be made of Egyptian cotton given that the T-shirts are so warm and non-breathable. Even if it is, it must be of the lowest possible grade!

With so much shopping, it is time for relaxation....cruising the Nile River.

Our 5* cruise ship....Topaz

This ginger bread house is home to real rabbits

There were traditional Egyptian dances to go with our buffet dinner. The food quality is acceptable but the quantity is utterly disappointing. The ship was in full capacity but the food seems to cater for only 90% of that capacity. The queue was extremely long and there was only enough food for ONE serving per person with some food running out even before the queue ends! Fortunately, the dances were very entertaining.

First, we had the famous belly dancing....

Belly dancer

The belly dancer is quite good......just that all of us were wondering and discussing is the belly dancer a he or she? Followed on is the highlight of the show, the Tanoura dance which is an Egyptian folk dance.

Dancer interacting with the diners

Besides the performances, the cruise presented nice night view of this 'forever under construction' city. 'Forever under construction' because the residential buildings will never have a final roof. Firstly, to avoid paying taxes. Since the building is not completed, no tax is payable. Secondly, the parents will build a new floor for their child who is getting married so that the new family can stay together under one roof (uncompleted one though).

A relaxing cruise puts down a nice full-stop to our trip to the Holy Land. Despite being in Egypt for only 3 days and thus not able to explore and understand more of this country, we do not yearn for more. The air quality is so polluted that all of us experienced some breathing difficulties at one point or another during our stay there. As much as possible, we tried not to walk the streets. Also, don't make the same mistakes as we did....wearing white garments. We had our white shirts turned into a light tone of grey within just 2 hours on the street.

While we are interested in the myths and fascination surrounding the Egyptian history, unfortunately, it is not enough to lure us back.

Bye Egypt!

On our way to airport

View Larger Map

(Site A: Amman, Jordan; Site B: Mount Nebo, Jordan; Site C: Madaba, Jordan;

Site D: Nazareth, Israel; Site E: Tiberias, Israel; Site F: Haifa, Israel;

Site G: Bethlehem, Israel; Site H: Jerusalem, Israel;

Site I: Dead Sea, Israel; Site J: Jericho, Israel)

View Larger Map

(Site A: Jericho, Israel; Site B: Eilat, Israel;
Site C: Mount Sinai, Egypt; Site D: Cairo, Egypt)

Holy Land - Jordan, Israel, Egypt Day 12

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 07:37:00 PST

Crossing into Cairo, Egypt also marked an end to our pilgrimage. So, from now on is pure leisure.

We visited the Egyptian Museum this morning.

Outside the Egyptian Museum

The crowd is unbelievable. While waiting for our turns to queue to get into the museum, we killed time roaming the external compound as the display of Egyptian history starts here.

Ancient writings located at external
compound of museum

Due to treat of terrorist attacks, security was extremely tight. This is also one of the reason why we visited the museum first thing in the morning (the crowd in the afternoon will be many times worst than now).

The museum displayed the history of Egypt, with the second storey dedicated to the artefacts dugged out from pyramids. The display is very informational and intriguing. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed. Fascination aside, it is at the second floor where the mummies and the artefacts were displayed that Ignatius and another group member (who practiced deep meditation) experienced some unpleasantness from the 'other world'. Believe it or not......for us we were only glad that we had our rosary with us which made a whole lot of difference! After this episode, we then understood what the accompanying priest meant by 'I better not go in and disturb others' when he decided not to visit it. It is an interesting museum but one that we would not go back again.

We had our daily mass before proceeding to a shop that specialise in Papyrus paper. Papyrus paper is a special type of paper made using the Papyrus plant.

Papyrus plant

The stem of the plant is soaked in water for 6 hours to soften it. The green outer skin is then stripped off and used to make basket. It is said that baby Moses was set sailed in a Papyrus stem basket to protect it against crocodiles as crocs hated the smell.

Papyrus stem soaked in water

After stripping off the outer green layer, the stem is soaked for another few days to reduce the sugar content.

Soaking to reduce sugar content

Once ready, the stem is flattened with these tools.

Finally, the flattened stem is compressed for about 20 days using this tool to turn it into a piece of paper. The Papyrus paper is so lasting that it can be easily recycled and a piece last forever.

In this gallery, many artwork depicting the history of Egypt are on sale. There are others related to Christianity that is on sale too. The colours of the paintings are very vivid and the uniqueness of the Papyrus paper makes the art piece a good sourvenir of Egypt.

This painting on Papyrus paper depicts the Egyptian's final judgement. Cost around US$600 - US$800.

See the scale? The heart of the dead person is weighed against feathers.

If the heart is heavier, then he/she will be banished to hell. If the heart is lighter, then off to heaven.

We were tempted to buy the painting on the Final Judgement, but somehow felt creepy about it. So, we bought the Ankh, an ancient Egyptian character that read as 'eternal life'. Thus, the Ankh is also known as the key of life.

The Ankh

After lunch, we proceed to another icon of Egypt, the Pyramid and Sphinx.

The Biggest pyramid in the group. Visitors can enter the pyramid after paying US$20 per person.

The pyramid has been a mystery till this very day. Thus, exploring the internal of a pyramid, climbing through the maze is worth visiting. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and the long queue, we were not able to fulfill our curiosity.

The smallest pyramid (belonging to the grandson) in the group.

The pyramid of decendants must be lower than their ancestors.

But this grandson cheated by building his pyramid on higher ground to look higher.

Group of pyramids

We walked around the compound admiring the beauty and the mystic that surrounds these pyramids. One word of caution....beware of the camels' 'bombs'. There are so many that not only do the air stinks, it is almost impossible not to step onto one the moment we don't look at the ground and walk! It is the most disgusting tourist attraction that we have been to. Also, forget about the toilets here. It is a make shift toilet that is free for use but the local thugs would guard these toilets and demand US$1 for each visit.

Not far from these pyramids is the Sphinx.

The Sphinx

The Sphinx was undergoing restoration when we were there, thus can only view from outside the gate. Hmm....a little punishment for you....

Pulling the ear of the Sphinx!

With the sun setting, time to call it a day.

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noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 02:43:00 PST

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Holy Land - Jordan, Israel, Egypt Day 11

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 19:25:00 PST

After spending a night in the horrible motel, everyone couldn't wait to leave. Having to leave early in order that we could reach Cairo, capital of Egypt by nightfall was most welcomed.

We started tracing Moses' footstep (backwards) from St. Catherine Monastery, a Greek Orthodox church.

Exterior wall of monastery. The protruding wooden boxes served as lifts and defending post against invaders

St. Catherine Monastery.

It's peace is a stark contrast to its defensive boundary wall

The elaborate main altar is captivating. But being a Greek Orthodox church.....no photography.

In the courtyard is the original burning bush where God appeared to Moses giving him instructions to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. It is said that the burning bush never dies, and its underground root has covered half of the entire monastery.

Original burning bush

Close-up of the burning bush

Look closely.....each leaf set is make up of 3 leaves......representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Here's another miracle......all the rocks from the surrounding mountains bear the same pattern - the burning bush.

Rock from the surrounding mountain

Without said, we picked quite a few pieces of broken rocks (the pattern is supposedly to be found inside the rock) on our way back to the bus. After keeping it for 6 months back home, no pattern formed. Maybe, the others have better luck?

At a corner of the courtyard, lies Moses' Well. As it is here that Moses met his wife, there's a tradition where singles who wanted to get married would touch the well and make that wish.

Moses' Well

It is only late morning and the heat is already unbearably hot and the dryness of the desert is already taking its toll on our skin....the skin on our fingers are slowly cracking up, one after another.

Continuing our journey, we came to the site where Moses would hold up his staff during each war and they would win. When his hands were tired, the people would use rocks to help him support his hands. Tough job, Moses!

Site where Moses held up his staff during war

After travelling for some distance, we came to the oasis that God created when Moses and the Israelites were wandering in the desert, escaping from the Egyptians.

Holy oasis

Oasis means there will be food......so it is time for for our lunch. We had lunch at a restaurant next to a Red Sea beach resort. Rooms at this resort are villas located just a few steps from the sea.

Beach at resort. Lots of bikini babes and sun-tanned hunks!!

After lunch, we continued for another long journey before coming to the well where Moses uses his staff to sweeten the water so that they could drink it. Today, the well has turned dark color, like 'coca-cola', to cater to the modern world.

Well where Moses sweetened with his staff

As this is the last visiting site before we travels non-stop to Cairo, we were given more time to stretch and do some shopping. Yep, shopping. The residents here earn their living by hand-making interesting costume jewelleries to sell to the tourists. They are actually very well-made and quite reasonably priced. We bought a few pieces for ourselves and as gifts.

Our accompanying priest who has been on the same trip previously, brought lots of chocolates for the children there as chocolate is a luxury that they can't afford.

With the smiles of the children, we set on our long journey once again. The desert is so dried that most of us have cracked and bleeding fingers. Forget about the usual moisturizers that we use. Even the very creamy type that we use for winter is of no use. Instead, apply Emu oil or olive oil. We were skeptical initially. But after seeing how fast our skin absorbs the oil, our perceptions changed 100%. So, if you are travelling here, emu or olive oil and handiplasts are the essentials.

Nightfall came very early. But we were happy and sad at the same time. Happy that we were able to see the desert's night sky. It was the most beautiful and captivating night sky that we have ever seen in our life. The whole sky was fully filled with brilliant stars in different patterns. If there is one thing that would draw us back to this desert, it would have to be the night sky. Had it not been too dangerous for the bus to stop, we would definitely capture that scene for future savoury. For this, it is one of the greatest regret since the chance that we would ever revisit this place is too slim. It is a sky that we will never forget. Now, we finally understand why they say the desert has the most enchanting night sky.

View Larger Map

(Site A: Mount Sinai; Site B: Cairo)

Holy Land - Jordan, Israel, Egypt Day 10

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:18:00 PST

Today we leave Israel for Egypt with a stopover at St. Catherine.

Before making our final exit, we visited the museum that holds the most complete set of the original dead sea scrolls.

The most complete book is the Book of Isiah

Close-up of scroll

The museum was built at the village where a secret Jewish religious sect comprising only men, resides together to pray to God so as to understand and decipher the Word of God.

Map of village

Bathing font.....sect members were required to cleanse themselves twice daily in this font before each prayer section

As sect members do not interact with outsiders, they had to be self-reliance.

Room where they made their own pottery

Every sect members were required to dine together in this Dining hall

Besides the village, it is also in a cave here that 14,000 fragments of the dead sea scroll were found.

The sect members are tough.....climbing to that cave from their village under

the scorching sun will takes at least 20 mins one way

From here, we stopped over at Eliat for lunch at a Chinese restaurant before 'crossing' the Red Sea to continue our long journey into Egypt.

Outside the Chinese restaurant. The mountain opposite the Red Sea belongs to Jordan

Eliat is a beach resort town in Israel with many 5-stars hotels and tourists, allured by the beauty of the Red Sea, roaming the streets in beach wear. If only we could stopover for one night here.... Should we visit Israel again, we will definitely make Eliat one of our stops.

After a long bus ride, we finally reached the border of Israel and Egypt. The atmosphere here is so much more tense than the border between Israel and Jordan. Armed armies and security cameras can be found at all corners. Throughout our trip, it is here that we first felt the tension of Middle East. No one said anything or dared looked around. Just listen to instructions and follow the group!

It is also here that for once we felt threatened when one of our group member was taken away by the Egyptian soldier and custom officer to another office out of our sight. The fear that we all felt and the worries that his wife (she was almost in tears) went through was beyond words. It was after 15 minutes (but it seems forever) when the officer released him and explained that there was some misunderstandings that all of us were able to breath again. Can't wait to leave.....our blood pressure were slowly rising!!

Slowly, the bus pulled off from the custom and it went out of sight before all of us heaved a sigh of relief.

The first sight that we visited in Egypt is the toilet at a pit-stop. It is the most expensive toilet we have ever used. US$1 per person to use an open air stinky toilet that has no water, no lights, no toilet papers except ample flies flying around as we pee.It was an obvious rip off.

We stopped over at St. Catherine and spend the night in a so-called 3* highway motel that should really be rated 0*.

Hotel's reception

Hotel's compound

The hotel's reception area and compound looked 3* but wait till we go to the rooms and the dining hall. We had buffet dinner in a huge hall with hundreds other tourists. Cutlery were dirty and the food tasted horrible. Service is non-existence! The buffet table ran out of bowls and spoons. Many of us (including the other tourists) repeatedly requested the waiters and waitresses for the bowls and spoons but were ignored. Most people ended up having pinch-size dinner (some of us just skipped dinner).

The hotel rooms were nothing a consolation to the poor dinner. No hot water for bathing in that icy cold weather. We thought we were one of the lucky ones to have 2 heaters in our room. In the end, we had the same fate as all the others. The first heater worked for only 5 minutes, and our second heater blew out cold air throughout the night. So, like all others, on top of the thin blanket, we had our winter clothes and snuggles together for warmth to get some sleep.

Despite the unpleasantness, it was a good experience to 'taste' the dessert (it is very different from America's Mojave Dessert) and to be staying in a motel where occasionally bombs would go off in the nearby mountains. If you would like some adventure and excitement, you may want to climbing Mount Sinai through the night in order to be in time to catch the sun rise. When the climbing gets too tough, there is always camels on hire. If not because of our cough (it is just too cold for our cough), we would have attempted it.

View Larger Map

(SiteA: Bethlehem; Site B: Eilat; Site C: Mount Sinai)

How to earn money from blog using Adgitize?

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 22:33:00 PST

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Holy Land - Jordan, Israel, Egypt Day 9

noreply@blogger.com (IG n AD) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 01:00:01 PST

Merry Christmas!

All of us are still in a high after yesterday's celebration. Today, we are looking forward to another highlight of our trip.....swimming in Dead Sea.

But before that, we visited Lazarus and his two sisters, Martha and Maria first....need to digest our breakfast.

Exterior facade of church

View of church from far

It is here that Jesus raises Lazarus from death.

Martha and Maria telling Jesus that their brother, Lazarus has died

Jesus commanding Lazarus to come out of his tomb

Upon seeing the miracle, all the people believed that Jesus is the Son of God

Since Lazarus has been raise, let's check out his empty tomb. After navigating through tiny doors and steep, narrow and treacherous stairs, we finally reached the entrance to the final tomb.

More crawling and climbing......and we were in the tomb! Compared to the tomb of our era, the tomb then is like a house. The size itself is a luxury.

In the tomb

After so much climbing.....time for spa!

Dead Sea.....the lowest point on earth at 1290ft or 400m below sea level

It is FREE dead sea mud right from the source.....no artificial ingredients, no processing.....make sure we mask the whole body.....don't waste.

Ok, time for water therapy.....see.....we float!

It is fun. But always be careful not to splash the water around as the high salt content is dangerous to our eyes. For people with broken skins or skin allegies like eczema, the healing effect of the dead sea minerals works like a miracle. We have been there, tried it and benefitted from it. Adelina is the walking advertisement in our group! Word of caution.....you will have to endure the excrutiating pain though. After the 'spa' treatment, it is also important to apply moisturizer to our body to replenish our extremely dried-out skin.

Time to tempt our taste buds at the Mount of Temptation.

Half way through our cable car ride to Mount of Temptation

Here we come!

View of Jericho - one of the oldest cities in the world dating from 7000 to 10000 BC

The buffet lunch that we had at this restaurant is definitely worth the journey up. Not only did it have wide choices of condiments and sauces to go with the pita, they are very delicious. If we were only allowed to choose one item, it will be the sauces for the pita. The best we had since our trip to Holy Land.

After lunch, as usual....can't sit still.....we roamed around Mount of Temptation.

Long flights of stairs leading to the monastery from the restaurant

After climbing the long flights of steep stairs (took us 10 minutes) from the patio of the restaurant, we reached the Greek Orthodox Temptation Monastery, Quarantal Monastery. Too bad it is closed for the day. What a waste!

Having seen Jericho from Mount of Temptation, how could we not visit it? Indeed, we didn't really get to explore it much.....so disappointing. On our way to see the sycamore tree, we saw carts after carts filled with big, red strawberries. The mountain of strawberries were so tempting that we almost wanted to jump out of our bus to grab some. So sad. Luckily, after much request from the group, we were promised to some shopping after we have ticked off the next itinerary.

Sycamore tree

This is supposedly the sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed to catch a glimpse of Jesus.

Having seen the sycamore tree, we traced the water source that gives life to the sycamore tree plus the other green oasis in Jericho.

Elisha Spring

That's it for the day. After a activity-packed Christmas Eve, we had a relaxing Christmas day. The rest of the afternoon was spend shopping.

As promised, we were brought to a road-side fruit stall for some fruit retail therapy. Always bargain, bargain, bargain. We bought quite a fair bit of fruits and dried dates. The dates from Israel contain lesser sugar content so is more suitable for our taste buds.

While the group was still busy with their fruits and dates purchases, we spotted a shop nearby that sell skincare products including Israel's famous dead-sea mineral skin-care brand Ahava. We have visited a couple of shops throughout our travel in Israel (during our sneak out time) to compare prices of Ahava products and found that the prices varies quite a bit. After some quick calculation, this shop nearby the fruit stall is the cheapest so far. Since we already knew what we were eyeing for, we were able to make a quick purchase during the short sneak out time.

They carried many other product including perfumes as well. So, if you happened to be here and had the time, it will be worthwhile to check out the store.

View Larger Map

(Site A: Dead Sea; Site B: Jericho)