Taukkyan War Cemetery

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give - Winson Churchill

Yangon - I decided to go to Taukkyan War Cemetery before going to the airport.   The concierge arranged with a taxi driver that they trusted to not run away with my luggage.   Left the hotel around 11am and reach the location @ around 1pm due to the heavy traffic jam along the way.

I had to go as it's one of the most visited and highly rated war sites in all of Asia and it was worth the journey.   The lawn and passage to the memorial was well maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Taukkyan War Cemetery

The Taukkyan War Cemetery is a cemetery for Allied soldiers from the British Commonwealth who died in battle in Burma during the Second World War. The cemetery is in the village of Taukkyan, about 25 kilometres north of Yangon on Pyay Road.

Cross for all the christians that died in battle

awesome inscriptions on the wall

"Here are recorded the names of twenty seven thousand soldiers o many races united in service to the British Crown who gave their lives to Burma and Assam and to whom the fortune of war has denied the customary rites accorded to their comrades in death"

A large number of the 27,000 names of Commonwealth soldiers are of the Indian Army and African soldiers who fought and died in Burma. Of the total, 1,819 graves are Indian soldiers.

Rangoon Memorial Pillars

The Rangoon Memorial with the names of over 27,000 Commonwealth soldiers who died in Burma during the Second World War but who have no known grave.

rows of fallen soldiers 

manicured graves

Trellis along the graves

Gift from the Burmese people

The inscription states 'the land on which this cemetery stands is the gift of the Burmese people for the perpetual resting place of the sailor, soldiers and airmen who are honoured here'.

Castells - UNESCO World Heritage - performance in Singapore

Singapore - Just outside of Ocean Tower was a Castells performance.  ''Castells'' are human towers built by members of amateur groups and this was a UNESCO World Heritage performance right in the heart of Singapore.

The human towers are formed by ''castellers'' standing on the shoulders of one another in a succession of stages (between six and ten). Each level of the ''tronc,'' the name given to the second level upwards, generally comprises two to five heavier built men supporting younger, lighter-weight boys or girls.

Sushi Dan @ CentralWorld

Bangkok - Lesley brought me to CentralWorld to have Japanese food and this was very unique because it has Lobster sashimi.   For the price of THB 999 you have miso soup and sashimi lobster.

Our live Claw Lobster

These were Canadian Lobsters with claws or usually called Maine Lobsters.

Lobster Miso Soup

This miso soup has a rich broth taste of Lobster.   There are slider about of Lobster meat from its head.  The taste of the soup was really good added with lots of seaweed.

The Lobster sashimi with roe

It was very good and the meat was so succulent and delicious.   It was not enough to fill my stomach as it was a small lobster so had to order some more dishes.

Nigiri sushi 7 pieces set

Hamachi sashimi

I tried a piece of Hamachi sashimi from Lesley's order and it was so fresh and the slices are thick.

Salad

Salmon head

This was also another good dish of Salmon head - I really like this restaurant with their fresh seafood.  Worth a return visit hopefully the lobster offer is still available.

The lobster tank

Home restaurant @ Langsuan

Bangkok - I was hankering to go back to this Home restaurant located at Langsuan.   It was a short walk from BTS Ratchadamri station.

Chayote with prawn 

Chayote is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family.   Although most people are familiar only with the fruit as being edible, the root, stem, seeds and leaves are edible as well. The tubers of the plant are eaten like potatoes and other root vegetables, while the shoots and leaves are often consumed in salads and stir fries, especially in Asia.

Sea Asparagus

Sea Asparagus shellfish is a bivalve mollusk with a narrow and long shell similar to a razor blade.  Its length can be between 11-18 cm.  It lives buried in the bottom of the sand of the sea bottom and river mouths.  It feeds on micro algae through water filtration.  The texture of its meat is tender and mild.

Steam Seabass

grilled edible snails

The standard of the food is still very good and the sea food is fresh and succulent.

Lok Lok - Must eat street food when you are in Penang

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

Penang - It was a food trail to taste the best Penang food  and Lok Lok (means dip dip) is a kind of communal steamboat, but every ingredient is displayed on the table.  You pick the skewer and cook it in the communal steamboat.   Just grab your stick out of the water once it's cooked and add the numerous sauces provided.   This is as close to communal you can get as random strangers will seat with you and share the same hot pot to cook their ingredients.

A wide variety of ingredients like quail's egg, prawns, fish/meat balls, mushrooms, squid, cockles, snails can be found amongst the spread laid out on the table for Lok Lok. The shop helpers will come around to refill ingredients.   Sticks are coloured differently which indicates a different price; at the end of the meal, the total number of sticks and their colors are tallied to come up to the total bill.

It was a great experience.

Char Koay Teow - Must try in Penang

Penang - When you are in Penang you must always try their Char Koay Teow - it taste very different from Singapore.

Sister's Char Koay Teow

There are many Char Koay Teow stall in Penang and everyone will claim that their's is original or the best in Penang.   But I think it's one man's taste and preference. This stall is located at 185 Jalan Macalister.

Char Koay Teow

Lor Bak

traditional hot tea

Nasi Kandar - Must try Street Food when in Penang

Penang - Nasi Kandar is an Indian Muslim dish and it originates from Penang.   'Nasi kandar' is defined as boiled white rice placed inside a wooden basket and carried on the shoulder using a pole. The rice is served with a variety of pairing dishes that are usually fried, curried or boiled.   In current times, Indian Muslim no longer ply their food on their shoulders and instead have restaurant and customer queue for hours to savour their dishes

The fragrant rice topped with different curry-based meat or vegetable dishes of your choice. Covered in similar fiery-red orange but the curry for each dish actually did taste different.   The mixture of curry sauces are pour on the rice and this is what makes Nasi Kandar so unique in their taste.

Fish curry

Fried chicken

Squid curry

Full spread of Nasi Kandar

4hrs drive to Penang - Pun Chun famous restaurant

Penang - It has been 7 years since I last been to Penang and along the way we stop at Bidor town. Pun Chun restaurant is a popular half way stop to rest, eat and is founded by Khong Yuen Chew, the inventor of the famous chicken biscuits (Kai Chai Peng) and Shat Kek Ma.  This is now part of Malaysian food culture.

Pun Chun

Pun Chun is famous for the Duck noodles and Chicken Biscuit.

famous Duck Leg noodle

It seems that this restaurant standard has fallen that even their famous Duck Leg noodle is served with Duck parts and not Duck leg.   Our 3 bowls and only 1 came with Duck Leg.   The Duck Leg soup is herbal.

Deep Fried Yam Cake

Fish ball