yeikloen's VirtualTourist Home Page

It has almost been like 2 years since I joined VT and it has been like my cyber home since then, posting up pictures, trip information and looking up for information on the places that I will be going, and it has been really good. Meeting new friends, bumping into someone I have known outside VT and seeing him here and another guy who is a a dad of my friend, I think..!!!

I have never thought I could just take my bags and travel in a country unknown to me, language, culture and food. This year I was able to meet up with 2 very beautiful ladies from China, Sonia from Hangzhou and Joyce from Nanjing. Also Bella of Miri over Chinese New Year.

This has also given me the opportunity to meet people of different race, culture and religion to travel with German, Austrian, Canadian, Dutch, French, English, Isreali, Japanese, American, and Australian. Really hope that I cross path again sometime soon with them.

After three visit to China in the past 12 years, I would say the toilet is no longer a porblem. Remember 12 years ago in Beijing, I have to walk 100feet away from the toilet but now, I can proudly walk to any toilet so far I have been much easier, but taking a bus in China is something quite discusting, people smoking and spitting inside the bus...!!!!

Was in Japan during summer in '91, Cos-Play-Zoku these people was dress in different custumes under hot sun when I am sweating my arse off. They are just amazing...!!!

Then in Angkor Wat, it is amazing when you reach a place like Cambodia and talking to kids which are like 5 years old with fluent English.

One of the main reason I travel is to eat. One of the best experience was in Cannes as the cost of living there is so expensive even the japanese that we were living next door to was complaining, we actually cook in our apartments, we brought rice and seasoning there but bought sausages, salami, bacons and veg from the store downstairs, very much cheaper but made a mess out of the place.

Japan was quite expensive to eat as well, didn't spend much money on food, stayed alive with McDonald, Wendy's, Yoshinoya, 180yen Noodle Shop, Okonomiyaki along the streets and Ramen bars.

Had a great time in Thailand, expecially Sukhothai, 5 dishes with 4 bowls of rice for only 70baht, I still can beat this price anywhere not even China.

In China, my favourite was the BBQ Lamb along the street, something when I see I just can't resist. Another which is the Fried Dumpling in Tongli 5 for 1.50yuan..!!

Then in Laos, on the first day it was really nice eating the sticky rice but the next day after seeing how its being prepare... gosh, I will not eat it anymore but sitting by the Mekong enjoying a bottle of beer is something that I never forget.

South America was a whole new experience, lots of meat and I really enjoyed the parilla I had the first day I arrived in Colonia, it was still the best parilla I had so far, and in Brazil, don't ever missed the Chucasco, they are ohhh...lala... out of this world, spend some money and go to a nice restaurant to enjoy at least once and Uruguay, the roast chicken was juicy and yummy...!!!! And oysters are just too cheap to be true ....!!! Miss all the wonderful food I had in S.A.

Oh and Battambang, buying like 1USD worth of roast pork in a market next exotic animals, woosh, I wonder how did I manage to eat all of it.

Faourite Food,
1) Thailand - Fried Beef With Basil Leaf everywhere.
2) China - BBQ Lamb and Fried Dumpling in Tongli
3) Japan - Okonomiyaki at Harajuku
4) Australia - Vietnamese Beef Noodle
5) HK - Fried Roast Pig in Cheung Chau
6) Singapore - Fried Prawn Noodle
7) Laos - Sticky Rice in Luang Prabang
8) Argentina - Parilla in La Boca B.A.
9) Brazil - Oysters in Florianopolis
10) Paraguay - Roast Chicken in Ciudad Del Este
11) Uruguay - Sausages in Colonia
12) Vietnam - Pho Bo in Hanoi
AND
13) UK - CAN'T AFFORD GOOD FOOD.

and I have to say the worst is
1) Vietnam - Fried Rice in Tay Ninh after visiting Cao Dai Temple

In Malaysia
1) Penang - Char Koay Teaw / Curry Mee
2) Ipoh - Pork Satay (Old Town)
3) Kuching - Kolok Mee with Char Siew oil
4) Sibu - Choo Char
5) Kota Kinabalu - Bak Kut Teh and Oxtail Assam Pedas
6) Melaka - Cendol
7) Miri - Mee Sapi or Beef Noodles
8) Seremban - Beef Noodle (market)

I have always like travelling on Train, this is maybe I didn't had much chance to go on trains even I live almost next to the train tracks.

On my first trains experience myself was the Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth overnight express, then I went a little more Kuala Lumpur to Hatyai which was great, never did travel across a country by train. Then I thought, why not do the Hatyai to Bangkok by train which was a torture, the journey took almost 24 hours.

Then in 2001, I finally got the chance to go on the bullet train or Shinkansen.

Been reading much about this Magnetic Levitation train operating now in Pudong Shanghai and finally I went on it on Jan 2004. It was so fast that it took only 8mins to travel from Longyang Station to Pudong International Airport which is about 20miles away with a speed of 430km/h. It was a real experience.

My ultimate challenge will be going on the trans-siberian train crossing 2 continents from St. Peterburgs to Beijing. Crossing my fingers and hope to do it real soon.

Trains Rides,
1) Kuala Lumpur - Butterworth
2) Kuala Lumpur - Singapore (v.v.)
3) Tanah Merah - Kajang
4) Kuala Lumpur - Hatyai (v.v.)
5) Hatyai - Bangkok (v.v.)
6) Shinkansen - ?? - ??
7) Nanjing - Luoyang
8) Xi'an - Shanghai
9) Kanchanaburi - Nam Tok

My Favourite
Longyang to Pudong on the Meglev

The 1972 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, was created in response to this growing concern about the state of our world’s cultural and natural heritage. The World Heritage Convention is a unique international treaty by which countries recognise that the sites located on their national territory, and which have been inscribed on the World Heritage List, without prejudice to national sovereignty or ownership, constitute a world heritage "for whose protection it is the duty of the international community as a whole to co-operate". From the Pyramids of Egypt to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, and from the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras to the Great Zimbabwe National Monument, the World Heritage Convention recognises that the wealth and diversity of World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located. As of December 2000, 690 cultural and natural sites of outstanding universal value are inscribed on the World Heritage List. And the following are some of the places which I have visited,

1) The Great Wall, China
2) Imperial Palace, Forbidden City, Beijing, China
3) Mousoleum Of The First Qin Emperor, Xian, China
4) Suzhou Classical Gardens
5) Temple Of Heaven, Beijing, China
6) Summer Palace, Imperial Garden, Beijing, China
7) Longmen Grottoes, Louyang, China
8) Monument Of Ancient Kyoto, Japan
9) Luang Prabang, Laos
10) Kinabalu National Park, Malaysia
11) Gunung Mulu National Park, Malaysia
12) San Agustin Church, Manila (One of the four Baroque Churches in The Philippines)
13) Sukhothai, Thailand
14) Ayutthaya, Thailand
15) Angkor, Cambodia
16) Tower of London, London
17) Historic Quarter of the City of Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
18) Parque Nacional do Iguaçu, Parana, Brasil
19) Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh, Vietnam

For more information on World Heritage list,
http://whc.unesco.org/nwhc/pages/sites/main.htm