Passport - The official way to travel ;)

Not surprising, this is the fourth time I'm renewing my passport. I can't believe how I've evolved just by looking at the pictures on my passports. With this entry, it means I'm travelling again. This time to Indonesia, comprises of 17,508 islands, and with an estimated population of 237 million people, it's the world fourth most populous country and has the largest muslim population in the world.

I'm starting my journey from Jakarta > Badung > Joyogkarta > Borobudur > Surabaya and lastly Bali. How excited am I? I just have to wait and see...

Last Day of my Backpacking in Saigon

My last day in Saigon is the sweetest! Well, I mean it literally. I found the tasty and sweet Dau Huay on the narrow lane of Saigon when I was wasting my few hours before my departure from the HCMC International airport, this old lady with big heavy pot hanging on her shoulder begin to lure me into what’s perhaps the most delectable and my favorite dessert in the planet. Sometimes, the best time in life are simple and come in a nominal price. For 3000Dong (30cents Sing), I enjoy the soft and tender texture of Soya melt in my mouth with the brown sugar syrup and guess what, coconut milk too. Oh my Lord Buddha! He is right that we get attached to our senses too easily and created this person call I. Nonetheless, it’s too good to let go that I order one more to satisfy my desire.

I remember when I was travelling in Cambodia; Andrew from Scotland mentioned there are 2 types of people he’ll differentiate. The bottle half full or the bottle half empty. He told me that from the way I form my opinion, I’m the bottle half full guy with strong optimism. Boy! Isn’t he right? Life is too short. You don’t waste it by worrying your life away. Everyone deserves to be happy even the ones that you detest the most. Why not be grateful and appreciate for what you have and maybe you’ll realize the simplest and most achievable happiness is not too far away…from you.

Here is the rundown:
Bangkok, Thailand > Kachanaburi, Thailand > Si Saket, Thailand > Bangkok, Thailand > Aranyaprathe, Thailand > Siem Reap, Cambodia > Phom Penh, Cambodia > Sihanouville, Cambodia > Phom Penh, Cambodia > Ho Chi Min (Saigon), Vietnam > Hue, Vietnam > Hoi An, Vietnam > Na Trang, Vietnam > Ho Chi Min (Saigon), Vietnam

Identity Crisis

It’s official! I look like Japanese even though I beg to differ. Thai okay, Jap not so much! No offence, Sunimasei! I’ve been keeping track of my tourist identity. The most frequent question people will ask is “Where you come from?” Sadly to say, I don’t know how a Singaporean looks like and most of them will acknowledge me as Japanese, Koreans, Thai or even Pinoy. So, whenever someone ask where I come from? I’ll always reply “Make a guess?” Here are the results;

Japanese: 14 times
Korean 4 times
Thai: 3 times
Philippino: 1 time
American (I know): 2 times

Make a guess: 3 times (Till to their limited understanding in English, they thought make a guess is a country :)

Nonetheless, I’m flying back to Singapore soon where someone will stop konijiwa me.

030509 Sunday - Na Trang

I covered most of the places of interest in one day! Na Trang is easy to navigate.


I first started with the Nha Trang Cathedral, Located on a hill overlooking the city, the cathedral shows the influence of French Catholicism. It's a Quaint, free and quick sight to see follow by Long Son temple, at this temple, you will see a 79 ft. tall white Buddha PAgoda. The pagoda was established in 1963 to honour the monks and nuns who died demonstrating against the Diem government.

Lastly, Po Nagar Cham Towers, These towers were built by the Cham civilization between the 7th and 12th century to honor Yang Ino Po Ngar, mother of the kingdom. The local Buddhists of Nha Trang occupied this place for prayers and worshipping, and there are many incense lighted giving the place an interesting aroma. The Po Ngar Kalan is a very glorified structure with amazing architectures filled with stunning colors.

After my sight-seeing, nothing completes without some bargain thus I walk to the Cho Dam Market, a popular destination for tourists. A pity I didn’t see anything that fancy me! ;)

Since my hotel is near to Tran Phu, a beach which is consider as the backbone of the city, I took a stroll accompanied by a pleasant waterfront promenade, palm trees and the nearly 6km of beach before I head for my dinner, a small little vegetarian stall. The soup noodle sure tastes good! What a rewarding day indeed!

My Shoes

Wow!!! Finally, my first hand in designing shoe! They are all customize in my size, made in Hoi An. Love it!!

Vietnam point of view

After staying In Vietnam for a few days, I’ve come to understand a little more about Vietnamese. They are direct, upfront and actually kind of smart Alex. They like to think that they know a lot but actually nothing. They don’t really listen to you. Obnoxious to certain extent!

They are also very particular to cleanliness. Selfishly only to their own possession or quarter. There is this driver whom spent 30 minutes just to clean up the front part of his bus before he start moving. I bet he has obsessive compulsive disorder.

They emulate the way you talk and behave to annoy you and they love to sing in broken tone. The women sing when they are tending their stalls, men sing it when they feel like it on the street. Are they trying to impress me?

They are rude, and annoyingly disturbing. They have this “Du Lan” face that says “hit me”. Poor services. What's poorer is the Vietnamese hygiene. I’ve personally smell a few ladies with BO (Body Odour) which I’m not surprise if you see thick and luscious armpit hairs dripping with sweat from their sleeves.

They pee everywhere. It seems like public toilet has a new found meaning. I know it’s not common to see man peeing on an empty roadside or corners to relieve themselves in Southeast Asia. I’ve seen a few times in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand and I personally had pee on the roadside once from my bus journey to Luang Prabang. What I’m amazed is an old granny peeing on the overhead bridge and man peeing just anywhere in the open space. Gosh! How polite!

Hey, how’re you? I’m peeing on the street.

300409 Thursday – Marble Mountain, Hoi An, Vietnam

Victory Day (Ngày Chiến thắng), is a public holiday in Vietnam that marks the occasion Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops captured Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) on April 30, 1975. This signalled the end of the Vietnam War. To show my patriotism, I wore a red T-shirt that depicts the Vietnam flag to visit one of the most stunning mountains in Vietnam,
Marble Mountains (Vietnamese: Ngũ Hành Sơn; "Five elements mountains") is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located in Ngu Hanh Son ward, south of Da Nang city in Vietnam. The five 'mountains' are named after the five elements; Kim (metal), Thuy (water), Moc (wood), Hoa (fire) and Tho (earth).

I’ve read my guide book that it cost USD$12 for one way to the mountain by taxi. However, I find another alternative, motor transport for USD$10 inclusive of return. Sometimes, it’s best to be resourceful without following everything blindly from the guide book. In this case, I save USD$14. I arrange the motorcycle to pick me up from my hotel. Every now and then, the best way to travel is to ride a bike and let the air blow your face.
All of the mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels, and it is possible to climb to the summit of one of the peaks. Several Buddhist sanctuaries can also be found within the mountains, making this a famous tourist destination.

Around the temple, there are shops selling all sorts of marble souvenirs. The area is famous for stone sculpture making and stone-cutting crafts.

290409 Wednesday – Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An is a nostalgic small ancient city on the coast of the South China Sea mainly because the Thu Bon river was an important Vietnamese trading centre that attracts Chinese and foreign immigrants to settle down. The buildings display a unique blend of local and foreign influences. A lot of assembly halls for various dialects were build for their own community benefit and get-together. Several Internet cafés, bars and restaurants have opened along the riverfront for tourists to unwind.

There are also numerous art and craft shops, tailors, who produce made-to-measure clothes and even the sneakers, can be customized for a fraction of western price in this town. I for example paid USD $100 for 1 boot and 2 pairs of sneakers which convert into S$150. You can’t beat that price as you can choose your color and materials and to know the size is one and only perfect for you. I customized a pair of gold leather sneaker for my chum’s wedding in October and a beige color suede leather boot for my indulgence. I’m picking up my shoes in the next 2 days. Can’t wait to see my masterpiece ;) Now, I’m a shoe designer too??