Travelogue around Asia Pacific Part II

Petaling Jaya -  This is Durian season and I simply love durians. Unfortunately as many Malaysians lamented that China bought and shipped most of the premium grade 'Musang King' or 'Mao Shan Wang' durian as unbelievable prices. In fact, this durian store does not have a single Musang King durian to be sell to us. Store front Durian buffet for RM30 but this durian is the lowest grade called 'Kampong durian'. We had 3 durians starting from 'Red Prawn' Red Prawn Other names: Hong Xia, Ang Hay Colour: Orangey-red Taste notes: Sticky with a sweet aftertaste. From: Pahang, Johor To me it tasted like Mao Shan Wang, very creamy and sweet but the seed is much bigger. Lipas Lipan Durian This is a new breed of durian that cost RM10 more than Red Prawn durian but does not taste as good.       Lipas Lipan means cockroach centipede....strange name for a Durian. XO durian Colour: Pale yellow Taste notes: Bitter and extremely soft, fle...

Old Klang Road - This is an old regular seafood place for the locals. The restaurant walls are decked with photos of people - supposedly should be 'famous'. Address: Lot KS-5 Taman Evergreen, 4th Miles,, Jalan Klang Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur Tau Pok Bakar Toasted and crispy Tau Pok ( A variety of fried beancurd which is flattish and square with a brown, wrinkled skin and soft, spongy interior ) stuffed with bean sprouts and thinly sliced cucumbers and topped with Balachan (fermented shrimp paste) and grounded peanuts.   Yummy and delicious - peranakan also has a similar dish famous in the Katong district. Hokkien Mee Kai Lan Kai lan is the Chinese name for a vegetable that is also known as Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale. It is a leaf vegetable featuring thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems with flower heads, similar to but much smaller than broccoli. Drunken Prawns The soup has a strong taste of Chinese cooking wine, the prawns are ...

Phnom Penh - The traffic to the airport was horrendous as it took about 50 minutes to reach.  The authorities block off 4 lanes due to the construction of an overhead expressway and so there are choke points with only one lane to pass. Passing through immigration was a breeze as there are few people at the airport.  SilkAir uses Plaza Premium lounge and it was huge with many cubicles and wide spread of food and drinks.    Khemer salad

Phnom Penh - After the seminar, a dinner river cruise was organised for all attendees.   The dinner cruise boat George and me George, Air and me George, Robin and Jerry..cheers

Phnom Penh -  The seminar was to be held at Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel so I booked it there as not to waste time travelling to and fro venues.   This 5-star jewel is tucked way away from the bustling city across the river.   There are few guests because of the long distance to many attractions and dining venues but the hotel looks and feels awesome.   It is a very big hotel. Grand entrance View of the pool from my room This hotel has a huge swimming pool.   When I walked pass it and cross the small road I will reach the jetty that will bring me across the river to Nagaworld and Royal Palace.   The ferry leaves every hour and it's free for Hotel guests. Ferry service Large Hotel Lobby with the huge dome in the centre of the Lobby. The swimming pool on ground level My room is very nice, air-con is fresh and well circulated but my only qualms is the Hotel is stingy on their water bottles.  They are half the normal size and onl...

Cameron Highland - The surrounding of Copthorne Cameron Highland Hotel is very scenic at temperature of 18degrees.  Cool, sunny and today, we are going home to Singapore.   Taken from the window of my hotel room.

Cameron Highland - In the afternoon, we boarded the Hotel shuttle to Tanah Rata town about 15 minutes from the Hotel.    It was pouring cats and dogs but still we had to cross the road to reach the shops.   Tanah Rata is a very small town of 2 rows of shop houses along the main road. We went to a quaint cafe recommended by Donny - called 'The Lord's Cafe' supposedly run by Christian folks as they have all Christian and bible stuff around the cafe.  Even the menu states 'The Lord's Menu'. This cafe is famous for their scones. Original Scone Strawberry scone Apple Pie with ice cream My Mango Lassi Lassi is a blend of yogurt, water, spices and sometimes fruit - in this case Mango.   I liked it very much. Pax and his mango juice We took the public bus for only RM2 each to Brinchang town... bus tickets

Cameron Highlands - We had to trekked 3.5km up the winding road to the Boh Planation @ Sungei Palas. Boh Tea planation 1km to the Tea planation 1km walk seems endless up the winding road.... rows of Tea shrubs Vast landscape of Boh Tea plantation Then is started to drizzle and we better make haste back down the mountain...my wife has the brilliant idea to hail a school bus and they picked us up.  Within 10 minutes we are down the mountain which would have taken us about 1.5hrs... Back at the hotel, we played pool...2 v 2 My 3 sons playing pool I love playing pool with my sons....now asking me to buy a pool table

Cameron Highlands - The coach from Singapore arrived in front of Copthorne Cameron Highlands in the morning.  After checking-in, we had a full day in front of us.   Copthorne Cameron Highlands Hotel has a huge thermometer in front of the entrance. Tallest thermometer in Malaysia At Copthorne, it is the highest point in Cameron Highlands @ 5,300 feet above sea level.   There are so many strawberries farms which you can pick your own strawberries but it is expense RM60 per kg. EQ Strawberry Farm rows and rows of strawberries me at Cactus Valley Along the way there are so many flowers growing beautifully due to the cold weather. strange flowers These are strange flowers which the shop owner made into... creative pattern made from flowers above And also strange fruits.... Cameron Apple Buah Cinta Buah Cinta also called Tamarillo which origins from South America.    Cut the fruit into halves and scoop up t...