Zhou Zhuang, China

Zhou Zhuang(周庄) , the ancient water village in China established over 900 years ago with many houses built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Zhou Zhuang is located 37 miles west of Shanghai in Jiangsu Province, about 2hrs ride from Shanghai. The highlight of the visit was a boat tour along the canals. We even tipped the person who was rowing our boat for two songs.

Before proceed with our lunch, we strolled along the street for some shopping. I bought a beautiful silk Cheongsam with a reasonable price. At the certain hour, there is a chinese opera show on stage. erm...i don't interested.

Food wise, one of the most popular tourist products in this town seem to be the pork knuckle. we can even can buy the pork knuckle in valcum pack to share with family and friends. Besides that, there are a lot of small restaurants opened for lunch. Please do not superb service standard.

The small fish itself cost about RM25/pc. It's unique!

Shanghai, China

Shanghai is famous for its prosperous cosmopolitan feature with a total resident population of 16,000,000. It has a pleasant climate, with four distinct seasons. I went during the hot summer. It's hot and humid.

This modern metropolis with its rich heritage of ancient Chinese culture has much to see and do. I stayed in Pacific Hotel which located at Nanjing Road. Along the 5.5Km Nanjing Road, there are more than 600 shops to hang around. Below are the photos shown that Nanjing Rd by day and by night. At night bright lights add to the happy atmosphere as people stroll along the busy Nanjing street.

The Bund which situated on the east bank of the Huangpu River, allowed one to brace the air and fine sunshine as well as seeing something of the many activities along the river.

Look at his jersey and height, I believe everyone knows who is the tall guy below. He is Yao Ming, standing tall at the entrance of the wax house. This is his actual height. Obviously, I' m very short!!! Another main attraction is the Oriental TV Tower. Standing beside the Huangpu river and the bund with a height of 468 meters (1536 feet), it is the tallest TV tower in Asia and the third highest in the world. Ok! Ok! Now is the best time to introduce delicious Shanghai cuisine. Err herm...My Favourite topic!

Is a norm that the host must treat his/her guests to dine in a private room. As a welcome coutersy, the host normally will order a lot of dishes, start with different varieties of hot and cold starters and followed by main course. Not to mentioned a few round of beer is a must. Perhaps, before the main course, my stomach cannot take in anymore.

Pic below : Hot and cold starters only, not even the main course yet!

Pic below: one of the main dishes.This is the dish i wish to highlight - crispy peking roast duck. The cooked Peking Duck is traditionally carved in front of the diners. The skin is served dipped in sugar and garlic sauce. The meat is then served with steamed pancakes, scallions and sweet source. The diners spread sauce, cucumber or carrots over the pancake. The pancake is wrapped around the meat with the vegetables and eaten by hand. Pic below: the egg tarts below are riched with cheezy taste! Thumbs up!
YuYuan Garden is the largest of Shanghai's ancient gardens with architectural styles of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. After visited the YuYuan Garden, we enjoyed our brunch at Restaurant "Nan Xiang Man Tou".

To avoid a long Q getting a table, we dined in the upper floor which required minimum spending. Therefore, those mini dumpling we ordered are special with crab and shark fins. It's yummy!!..

Pic below: The master can use his scissors to do wonders. He can cut one's side face within 2 minutes. I got one too!

Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok, my dining, shopping and massage paradise!! I went to Bangkok almost once a year. There are so much things i can do in Bangkok.

The Baiyoke Sky Hotel - Thailand's tallest hotel, rising 88 storeys above the Bangkok skyline, strategically located in the heart of downtown. What i wanted to intro is not the hotel facilities, but is the International Buffet and Seafood in Bangkok Sky Restaurant on 76th & 78th floors.

Before dinner, we enjoyed the paranomic view of Bangkok from the Revolving View Point on 84th floor, follwowed by sumptuous dinner at the Sky restaurant. They served river prawns, rock lobsters, scallops, crabs, cooked in various styles, grilled salad, Tempura or teppanyaki Seafood etc. What i like most is the big prawn and fresh salmon.

After the heavy dinner, we proceed to The Roof Top Bar & Music on 83rd floor for our cocktail. The outlet set amidst the beauty of city lights and the magnificent view of sparkling stars and Bangkok sky at night.

Its romantic ambience allowed those who plan to do his marry proposal. I'm sure she will says " Yes! I do".

If you wish to taste the local signature dish or dessert, then must try the manggo rice. You can find this everywhere. If you have local friend, they will bring you to those authentic Thai local restaurants for sumptuos seafood and dessert. So far, i have tried fresh oyster (served in Thai sytle), curry powder crabs, shark fins soup, grilled prawn, birdnest served in coconut etc.

Go for Bangkok river cruise in the evening! The 2 hrs cruise passed through the beautiful night scenery on both sides of Chao Phraya river while having served with welcome drink cocktail. We dined under candle light with live music band in a romantic atmosphere while enjoyed the international buffet elegantly.

If you are hungry at night, don't worry, this restaurant is opened only for supper. They served delicious congees buffet in a cosy environment. They have more than 100 varieties for you to choose from.

There are many shopping malls in Bangkok. When it comes to luxury goods, Siam Paragon is a 'heaven' where you can find most of the boutiques and flagship stores of the world's top-notch designer names.

Shopping in Bangkok is a day-and-night activity. To practise your bargan power, go to Chatuchak Weekend Market, pratunam market, China town or patpong. Alternately, go to MBK, World Trade, Siam Paragon, The Emporium etc.

If there is one must-see sight that no visit to Bangkok would be complete without, it's the dazzling, spectacular Grand Palace, undoubtedly the city's most famous landmark. Visitors must be properly dressed before being allowed entry to the temple.

My mum complainted that i'm not a good tour guide because i didn't explain the history and the story of the building. Sorry, mum, coz i'm poor in my history subject in high school!

This is the hotel i used to stay when i visit Bangkok. This is because there is a good Thai massage center right opposite the hotel. After the oil massage, i can enjoy a delicious congee buffet at the ground floor for supper.

Bangkok is also famous for its massive traffic jam. At one time, we took a taxi from MBK to Suan Lum Night Bazaar nearby, its took about 1 hr to reach. The traffic is not moving at all. Guess what? When we arrived at the market, the taxi meter shown 70bht, so cheap! The taxi driver even apologized for the jam!!

Bangkok Safari World where we can see see zebra, deer, giraffe, birds, tigers, lion and bears roaming in a natural habitat. where else, in the marine park, we find marine life and many other rare aquatic creatures.
Good bye Bangkok. I will come back again!

Pattaya, Thailand

Pattaya is located 165km from southest of Bangkok. Five of us took a bus journey about 1.5hrs to reach Pattaya. After checked in to hotel, we spent our afternoon in pattaya beach. We enjoyed Jet ski perhaps.

In the later afternoon, we took a tuk tuk to Mini Siam. To see everthing here, you need at least 2hrs. It must be quit impressive to visit Mini Siam after dark, when all the miniatures are illuminated. There are many miniatures and masterpieces which impressed us such as Eifel Tower, Sydney Opera House, Colosseum in Rome and many more.

After the tour, most of us agreed to find a good place for dinner, as pattaya is famous for its fresh seafood and lobster. Here we go.. end up we had our seafood in Walking Street. Perhaps thats not cheap!!

After dinner, we went to Hard Rock, as HR is always my "must-go" destination.