30 November 2008

It’s barely even 3 days since I came back from Europe, and now my heart itches to get back there.

I will just post up some random pictures taken in both Spain and Holland as I am kinda busy with my work in Penang this week. Thus, it will be a brief entry this round.

Here I am in Toledo, a city and municipality located in central Spain, 70 km south of Madrid. Toledo was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire.

Absolutely love the autumn atmosphere in Spain. This was taken in Avila before leaving for Salamanca.

If you remember the movie ‘Vantage Point’, then you will notice the familiar buildings around me.

Yup, I am in Salamanca where it is one of the most important moments in this city’s history was the year 1218, when Alfonso IX created the University of Salamanca. Soon, Salamanca became one of the most significant and prestigious academic centres in Europe.

Snow!! I finally see snow for the first time in Valley of the Fallen.

Here I am outside the El Escorial, which is one of the Spanish royal sites and functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum and school.

Looks like the trees are facing an early winter!

Breathing fresh air in Volendam. It is a town in North Holland in the Netherlands, well-known for its old fishing boats and the traditional clothing.

Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, primarily known for its typically Dutch town centre and some historical buildings.

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Do not worry, guys.

I will continue to blog intensively about my trip to Spain and Netherlands once I have both my hands free!

As for now, I need to wash up and prepare to tuck myself in bed.

25 November 2008

Ms. Ong is now currently in the Kingdom of Spain, without internet.  It has been bestowed upon me to update her faithful readers on her travel itinerary. 

23 Nov – Sight seeing around Madrid

24 Nov – Toledo, Avila and Salamanca

25 Nov – Segovia, Valley of the Fallen

26 Nov – Amsterdam here I come!

27 Nov – Cheese Village

28 Nov – Bye Amsterdam.

29 Nov – Haih, back in KLIA.

This has been a public service message from greynovember.

19 November 2008

Macau is a territory located in southeast China, and was until 1999 administered by Portugal as an overseas province

From Hong Kong, you may opt to take a ferry to Macau for a day’s trip. If you think it’s a bit too hectic, you may stay a night in Macau itself.

Well, it cost about HK$146 (Current rate is HK$10 = RM4.68) for a 1-hour ferry ride.

The east bridge is where you enter after getting your ferry tickets.

Most of us are more accustomed to our very own cacated Penang Island ferries or our bumpy Langkawi island ferries. But this particular ferry is so much more comfortable in comparison with our Malaysia Boleh ones.

Dumbo restaurant is a famous eating outlet for tourists in Macau.

The ever famous Portuguese Egg Tart.

Macau is extremely rich in attractions and oozing with atmosphere, thanks to hundreds of years of fusion between European and Chinese cultures.

A fascinating place to just walk around as the place is packed with churches, temples, fortresses and other old buildings bearing an interesting mix of Portuguese and Chinese characteristics.

On the way to St. Paul’s ruins, you will pass by a lot of shop houses and road signs.

It so happened when I was there, they were celebrating China’s National Day (Oct 1).

Besides buildings, there are also hundreds of narrow alleyways forming a maze in the old part of Macau where the people of Macau carry out businesses and work. If the sheer density of humans get to you, take a break and enjoy some nice food that you can find along the alley.

Street stalls sell tasty strips of barbecued pork as well, and Macau is also famous for their pork cutlet burger.

For the budget-minded, wander the back alleys and you’ll come across plenty of mom-and-pop Chinese eateries. Note that most of these places have menus on the walls that are hand-written in Chinese only.

Ruins of St. Paul’s is a remarkable tourist spot for Macau. Some couples flew all the way from Malaysia to Macau for the backdrop in their wedding pictures.

However, you cannot visit Macau without visiting Ruins of St. Paul’s.

Hotel rates are most expensive on Friday and Saturday nights, because demand are higher with many Hong Kong residents coming to Macau to gamble over the weekend.

Grand Emperor Hotel has guards like Buckingham palace too!!

Gambling is Macau’s biggest industry and busloads arrive daily from mainland China to try their luck. In addition, many Hong Kongers arrive on weekends with the same aim.

Why do people gamble in the first place? I wonder.

You will see strips of gold bars embedded on the floor at the entrance of Grand Emperor Hotel before walking to the casino.

Felt like taking 1 gold bar home. Ngiek ngiek ngiek!!

Nevertheless, I’m not a fan of gambling, therefore I am glad I didn’t stay long here. 1 night was sufficient to roam around Macau.

17 November 2008

So, we only need to pay RM2.00 per litre right now. Well, I am having a mixed reaction of feelings inside me at the moment.

Source: Malaysiakini

Happy because I do not need to pay a bomb for feeding my car. Especially when we travel around Klang Valley so often, the mileage increases a lot and cars get thirstier than ever. At least I do not need to pay more than 20cents per km now.

Frustrated because the prices of food & beverages are not down yet. My favourite Roti Canai used to be at RM0.70-0.80 before the price hike in June 2008. Now it’s priced at RM1.10-1.20. I am sure a lot of Malaysians are agitated with the inflation and the creeping costs of living in Klang Valley is unbearable. Sadly to say, prices have gone up, and it will be irreversible. I wish it will but this is a matter of fact.

Well, I guess we just have to UBAH GAYA HIDUP as what our Prime Minister said.