Owner: Lazy Bone - Frequent Traveller's Blog URL:http://lzbone.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 02:03:35 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Being a frequent business traveler, I travel to other countries at least once or twice a month. I write about interesting stories happened in my trips, including reviews on hotels, food and restaurants. Site statistics:Click here
Win $70 plus prizes by guessing AhBoon's Traffic 2007-04-22 09:42:00 AhBoon is now giving out USD70 for whoever can guess his site's traffic most accurately for the month of April. Well, actually USD70 is to be paid if you can get the ACTUAL number of page views. If no one can get the actual number, USD40 will be given to the one with the closest guess.AhBoon is a friend of mine, and I feel very much to support him, so irregardless of my busy schedule lately (hence very little update) I still want to participate. :PHis site is actually very popular, but seriously I sometimes find it rather embarrassing to visit his site, coz got a little of humsup thingy. :P But they are not that revealing lah, so is still not 'sam kap' yet. ;)He actually asked us for opinion on his best post and worst post, I find it hard to tell which is worst, but I particularly liked his post on the Hiroshima war pics (very controversial with lots of comments), and the one video about no seat belt.I always think he has done a very good job in his blog. From what he has pos
Win Prizes with Bid4Prizes 2007-05-03 04:53:00 Many months ago, when I first heard of 'The lowest bid wins' from ASTRO, I didn't understand it at all. I kept thinking, if I want to bid, of course I bid the 'lowest' as in 'zero'!Now, I stumbled uppon this unique site, bid4prizes, with the same bidding concept of 'Lowest bid wins'.Alright, if you are as clueless as I was, here is the explanation how it works:To win a prize, you must have the lowest unique bid at the end of the game. The lowest unique bid for any prize starts at one penny, but if more than one person bids a penny, then that penny is no longer the lowest unique bid, and 2 cents is. If more than one person bids 2 cents then 3 cents is the next lowest unique bid. And so on and so on.Currently at the site, the prizes available for bidding are very interesting, and have very good variety. For example, Wii, $500 CASH!!!, Sony VAIO, Apple iPhone, Philips DH Plasma TV, BMW 3 seris car, any many more!Unfortunately I don't have a UK cell phone, coz the bids are plac Read more:Prizes
Hong Kong Food (Part 1) 2007-05-04 15:55:00 Our main purpose of going to HK was to eat. :P Sounds like greedy fella! I had so many things in my list, achieved a lot, but still unable to eat a lot! :(I had a hard start, trying to organize how to blog about the food we had. I've decided to categorize based on locations, though some of the restaurants have outlets in other areas, and some are franchised. I will start with Tsim Sha Tsui, where we lodged.许留山I'm sorry I don't have the English name of this outlet, but it is pronounced like 'Hui Lao San'. This is the place people go for Mango desserts. We ordered the Mango Twins, which was on promotion.These are the real things:The one on the left is mango ice cream with mango cubes and gravy. They used Philipino (or Thailand??) mangos (as I was told by my sister), hence have very nice fragrant. The mango gravy is actually real mango paste.The same mango gravy is used in the other cup, replacing the ice-cream with glutinous rice balls. To my surprise, the glutinous Read more:Hong Kong
Hong Kong Sightseeing (part 1) 2007-05-04 12:51:00 Our way of visiting HK may not suit you, coz I am of those type that don't know how to appreciate the museum, the zoo, gardens, temple, etc. Basically, all those that 'normal' tourists would go, we missed them.I didn't go to the Ocean Park and the famous Disney Land. I don't like to squeeze with the crowds. I will only do that if I bring my children - suffer for them is okay. :)Okay, what did we do in Hong Kong
then? It was mainly an eating trip! Apart from eating, we went to a few places, for some reasons...Ngong Ping 360 (昂坪360)This is the latest attraction in Hong Kong, even newer than the Disney Land. It is opened early this year. To get there, we first took the MTR to Tung Chung station, and from there, we took the Ngong Ping Skyrail and started the journey.I forgot to take the photo of the Skyrail. Anyway, due to the foggy condition (or hazy??!), the view wasn't good. We couldn't see far away, though the view is supposed to be attractive. It is a 20-25 minute Read more:Sightseeing
Hong Kong Trip 2007-05-04 12:47:00 My God! After I've finished writing about my last HK trip, then only I know how much I have to post! I have to warn you, there are 11 posts in total, and I have to schedule a few days to post them.I went to HK early April, 5D4N, with my sister. Just the two of us. Our goal was to eat, eat, and eat. Not so much of sightseeing, but we still covered quite a few key things. We didn't go to the Disney Land and Ocean Park, but we went to Macau for a one-day tour, also focusing on food. :PI will start my 'report' with sightseeing/places first.Coming up next:Hong Kong
Sightseeing part 1Hong Kong Sightseeing part 2Hong Kong Food part 1Hong Kong Food part 2Hong Kong Food part 3Hong Kong Food part 4Hong Kong Food part 5Macau Food part 1Macau Food part 2Summary of Hong Kong TripHong Kong/Macau Sightseeing Tips
Hong Kong Food (part 3) 2007-08-04 08:04:00 Australian Diaries (澳洲牛奶公司)Although in Chinese it says 'company', but in fact it is a restaurant, or to be more accurately - Coffee Shop. We are actually quite pissed off with this restaurant, and I wasn't supposed to promote it due to my bad experience. But to be fair, their steam 'double-milk' (炖双皮奶) is the best that I've ever eaten. I still miss the taste, though I might not ever want to return to that outlet. I have no photo to show, coz we were badly treated there.First, the staff trying to intimidate my sister. When my sister ordered the steam milk, he asked what type she wants. My sister asked what types are available, he got impatient and sort of scolded my sister, asked her to read the menu. Their fried-egg and toast are also famous, I tried ordering that too, and I was again asked what type of fried-egg and toast. I didnt' know they have so many types, got panic, simply pointed at one in the menu, without really knowing what's the differenc Read more:Hong Kong
Hong Kong Food (part 2) 2007-07-04 08:57:00 杏花楼Again, I don't have the English name of the outlet. It is pronounced as Hang Fa Lao, around Haiphong Road (海防道). This restaurant is famous for its glutinous rice ball (汤圆). It is not made of normal glutinous rice, but the sago (西米皮汤圆). You can see from the pic that it is somewhat transparent, due to the different ingredient used:Another famous dish is the XO-Sauce fried Cheong-Fun (XO酱炒肠粉). The restaurant uses a lot of the sauce, hence very tasty, compared to others.My sister also recommended me to eat their 18-grains-rice (十八谷饭). It is made of 18 types of grains, includes red beans, green beans, oats, corns, etc (you can read from the poster). In terms of taste, unbelievably good, can eat on its own.We shouldn't have ordered the beef fillet wrapped mushroom dish, to go with the rice, coz it wasn't tasty at all, and I had hard time chewing it. :PMacau Restaurant (澳门茶餐室)You must eat the roast pigeon in this restaurant. H Read more:Hong Kong
Cancelling Holiday 2007-05-08 10:21:00 I have to cancel my holiday. I've paid for the air fare, luckily not too much coz via Air Asia, but still a few hundred for the two of us. Have to cancel because both my children are sick.Leaving sick children behind when traveling for work, is different from leaving them behind for holiday. I can't pass my own guilt, so decided not to go tomorrow morning, though it is only nearby -- KK only.Luckily we haven't booked our accommodations. We originaly wanted to stay in those cheap ones like the backpacker type, somewhat couldn't decide on the exact place. In a way, lucky for that, otherwise we will have to pay for additional cancellation fee!Actually, if I can afford the destination, I'd pretty much want to go to Europe. I am still hoping that the company will send me there for any meeting or training. Our headquarter is in the Amsterdam, though lots of meeting is in London. I know some people went to Hague for training... still dream on that... :P Read more:Holiday
Hong Kong Food (part 5) 2007-11-04 04:15:00 九记牛腩Pronounced as Gao Kei Ngao Lam, this is my most favourite restaurant along with another one in Macau. I have been thinking of these two outlets nearly everyday, and when thinking about them makes me more hungry coz they are just so delicious. My sister thinks the same too, so it is not just me!This outlet is very difficult to find. You probably need to take a cap, but we walked coz we had a map (from a book that we bought in KL book store). It is in between Central (中环) and Sheung Wan (上环). We exited from Sheung Wan #E2, walked along the Queen's Rd. C. (皇后大道中), go into Wellington St (威灵顿街). After seeing 莲香楼on our right, we turned into Aberdeen Street. Enter the second right lane, and this outlet can be seen prominently.Its soup is clear but very tasty, with full flavour. It is famous for its Curry Beef.We order curry beef with... can't remember what it is called - pic, very soft and tender.But... what makes it unforgetable is the ye Read more:Hong Kong
Hong Kong Food (part 4) 2007-09-04 08:05:00 Hing Kei (兴记)This outlet is famous for its claypot rice. It is located at the Templer Street, exit C of Yao Ma Tei station. We ordered one with pork-neck meat, and a plat of fried clams. The clam is tasty, but the rice is just so so. It comes without any seasonings, and we have to add them ourselves. Maybe we didn't know the technique to mix the sauces, it wasn't tasty at all. We checked with the owner before doing it ourselves, but she said 'just add them based on your own taste'.I think our claypot chicken rice in KL taste better. So, you can skip this outlet, unless you don't trust my taste bud or my mixing skills. :P Oh, maybe you still want to try again, coz before we left we then found out their famous is with glutinous rice. We ordered normal rice (didn't know about it earlier). So, maybe still worth you a try?乐园牛丸王This 'Beef Ball King' is pronounced as 'Lok Yuen Ngao Yuen Wong'. Located at the Garden Street (花园街), nearby the Women Street (女人街 Read more:Hong Kong
Macau Food (part 1) - Taipa 2007-05-14 08:19:00 In Macau, there are basically two places we need to go, i.e. the Taipa (sorry can't write the Chinese word, coz not a standard Chinese!) pronounced as Tam-Zai, and the Central or called Dai-San-Ba (大三巴). In Taipa, there are a couple of streets with famous Portugese foods. And the Seng Cheong (诚昌) porridge is one of the two food I can never forget in this trip.Seng Cheong Crab Porridge (诚昌水蟹粥)It is highly recommended by my HK friends. It wasn't in my original food list, but due to her high recommendations, we started with that. I was really glad we listened to her.They cooked the porridge with crab that is full of cream/role/羔. The porridge looks yellowish with the roles mixed well.We ordered the small one, but came so big, coz they cook it minimum with 1 crab. We also ordered their fried fish balls. When we first saw the food, we thought we would not be able to finish. But we were wrong! It was so tasty that we finished everything, and we didn't feel e
Macau Food (part 2) - Central 2007-05-15 11:10:00 After tasted what we listed in Taipa, we went back to the Central
and headed for other stuff in our list.Restaurant Platao (九如坊)This restaurant is located on a side lane after the McDonald's in the Central. My friend highly recommended it for its Biscuit Mousse (木糠蛋糕/木糠布丁). This looks like a fine dining restaurant, more pricey than the other outlets we had before. The Biscuit Mousse costs us HKD48, just for 1 piece.Though it doesn't look good from the picture, it tastes very well. It is like ice-creams layered with biscuit powder. Something quite unique that I've not seen elsewhere. Worth trying.Yee Soon Dairies (义顺牛奶公司)After tasting the nice stemed milk in the Australian Dairies, we had high expectation of this cafe. Quite disappointed, coz the steamed milk (双皮奶) tasted quite awful that I couldn't finish it - for the first time, we pushed the food to each other. :PBut then, its Ginger Milk (姜汁撞奶) is very different! Ginger mi
Hong Kong/Macau Sightseeing Tips 2007-05-17 13:11:00 These are some (hopefully useful) tips for those who visit HK on your own.TransportationBefore leaving the airport, buy the Octopus card (八达通卡), that includes a return trip of the Airport Express (AEL), and 3 days unlimited ride of the MTR. It costs HKD300 per person, but is very useful and can save a lot of money, especially if you schedule all the trips to farther areas in the first 3 days.In Macau, after leaving the port, go straight to the card counter to apply for a Macau Pass. I can't remember how much it costed, but with the deposits and all that, I paid HK$80 for a card. It can be used for multiple passengers, and upon leaving, you can return the card and get the deposit refunded plus the remaining credit. Very convenient and easy payment.Going to MacauIf you are a Malaysian, don't have to get entry visa. However, if you needed an entry visa to Hong Kong
, then perhaps you'll need a Macau visa. And returning from Macau to HK, you'll need another HK entry visa. Read more:Sightseeing
Summary of HK Food Trip 2007-05-16 13:10:00 There are a few things that I didn't list out in the blog in detail. One of the dinners, I had seafood with my friends, whilst my sister had hers with her friends. Due to time constraint, we just had the seafood in town, so nothing great to write about.The night we returned from Macau, my sister's friend invited us to this Oyster Bar at Knutsford Terr (诺士佛壹) nearby our hotel. This is an expensive place, man! Having plates of oysters, of different species... really new experience to me -- call me uptown girl/woman! Of course, that meal costed over 2k HKD. * shock *And the day before we left, we had dimsum for breakfast. Nothing to write about, just standard dimsum, nothing special. Not the type that we see in the TV.Those things that we didn't manage to eat are: smelly toufu (臭豆腐), 2-mix (两溝), etc (mainly street foods).As for what I loved most? They are the 九记牛腩 (Gao Kei Beef Noodle) and Seng Cheong Crab Porridge (诚昌水蟹粥). I missed them so Read more:Summary
Another Hotel Room Incident 2007-05-21 10:48:00 Can't believe this is happening to me again!I had a busy weekend traveling and working in China from city to city. This morning, I flew from Shanghai to Guangzhou with a male colleague from Beijing. Arrived at the hotel, found out they were over booked, and they let us shared a room. Well, not really that to be exact. They let us share a two-room suite. Believe that or not?They were not honest at first (sound so similar to the previous Pakistan case). They took our credit card, swiped, made us signed the registration... and then we noticed the price quoted there was different from the confirmation email. Upon checking, only we found out they put us in a two-room suite.In our culture, it is just not right to put a male and a female in a suite like that! Not that we don't trust each other, but it is against our culture, and it will certainly create family crisis (his and mine)! I'm sure my husband would mind, and I'm sure his wife would mind!Since it was day time and our office was o Read more:Hotel
, Incident
What You CANNOT Do While Driving and Why 2007-05-27 22:25:00 Received this note from the safety advisor a couple of months ago, and thought of sharing with you guys:Talking on the phone while driving is not the only thing you are not allowed to do when you are on the wheel. Read below from the BBC website to see why you should not be distracted with other activities while driving, related not only to the dangers of mobile phone use...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6309033.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4788910.stm Read more:Driving
Discovery Cruise 2007-06-17 10:53:00 I've always wanted to go on a cruise since I was very young, still schooling. But I've never on board a cruise ship, never. And my wish to have cruise has gone far behind my mind now.As I grow/age, I find myself worried about -- pirates. :PAm I silly? :PAnyway, I have recently learnt that the DiscoveryCruise
is giving out some kind of complementary 1-day cruise to the Military.The cruise is from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Grand Bahama Island, including all meals and the taxes, no cost at all.The offer is for US military personnel only, and is for those who have served or are serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.Not sure whether this is any part of their marketing program, or is this company playing its social resp. thingy?
Travel to Melbourne 2007-06-22 22:53:00 Are you planning to travel to Australia? Which part of Australia would you like to visit?I've been to Perth only. Maybe will consider Melbourne
in the future. Ever since joining this firm, though I am in the Asia Pacific role, and Australia is in my portfolio, I haven't got the chance to go on business.My boss went to Melbourne once for a training, and she purposely scheduled it around the F1 period, so she got a chance to be there as well. Well, she is the boss, she could do that, but I can't!Anyway, going to Melbourne during the F1 period is not easy, as most hotels would be fully booked. It would be hard to look for cheap hotels in Melbourne during that period. So, that is a disadvantage though. :) Read more:Travel
Breaking Down in Vehicles 2007-06-21 23:45:00 Have you experienced breaking down in a vehicle? I learnt that each year, hundreds of people lost their life or suffer serious injuries while working or stopped at the roadside or on the motorway hard shoulder due to vehicle breakdown.This can be a very worrying experience and can be very dangerous. It is vital for all drivers and passengers to know what to do in the event of breakdown.First, do not stand beside your vehicle on the road or in a parking area. Try to park your vehicle away from the main road, keep your vehicle locked and within eyesight. Walk away from your vehicle, don't position yourself where you can hit by passing vehicles, stay high attention on your vehicle, passengers, and on coming traffics.If you have a flat tyre that you have to change, try not to do this at the road side. If possible use a second vehicle to block/protect yourself. Try to stop with the flat tyre facing the roadside. Post a lookout to warn you of approaching vehicles, put warning triangl Read more:Breaking
, Vehicles
Safe Driving in the Rain 2007-06-28 23:42:00 We need to drive differently in wet weather. It's more than just working wiper blades and reducing speed. We can make a difference as we share the same roads with others.Here are some tips for driving in the rain:Remember the simple rule - wipers on and lights onReduce speed Think ahead for where water hazards could beIf can’t avoid standing water, try to do all your braking in a straight line before hitting it and comes off the brakes as you enter the puddle. Re apply brakes gently once all tyres are immersed in the water and keep your steering wheel as straight as you can. Never assume ABS will reduce braking distances in the wet, it won’t!Be prepared for oncoming heavy goods vehicles to shower you with spray; so put your wiper on high speed 2-3 seconds before they go pastThink space, space, space !!! Never follow too close to the vehicle in frontAs for the last point, always allow double the normal space that you would for a fine day. On normal days, it is recommended to use 2- Read more:Driving
Online Dating 2007-06-28 23:27:00 This is a sponsored post. I am supposed to write about my online dating experience, but seriously I don't have any. But... I am going to share with you a story of my best friend.She is my childhood friend since we were just 4 or 5 years old. We went to the same school until standard 5, and she moved on to international school as she comes from a rich family.She is always a shy and introvert type. Never appear to me as able to initiate conversations, not even to guys.Many years later, when I had a steady relationship, she was still single - as in never had a boyfriend. Few years later, I got married, and she is still without a soul mate.When my first child was born... suddenly she told me she is getting married! And guess what? She 'met' her soul mate online! She is now happily married, with a beautiful daughter, and her husband loves her very much -- kind of like a happy ending to her.I'm very glad for her, and this really changes my view about online dating. Guess as long as pract Read more:Dating
, Online Dating
Paint Ball 2007-07-01 20:42:00 I saw a new opportunity in PayPerPost on paint ball. Though the payout rate is not good, it reminded me of my last paint ball experience, and I wanted to take the opportunity -- but then, later found out it is only opened for US bloggers. :(Anyway, since I've digged out the pic from my archive in 2001, I've decided to blog it away, but the advertiser won't get their link. :POkay, back to the topic - Paint
Ball. Have you tried playing with it? I've only played once.It was during my ex-company's trip to Bukit Tinggi Resort (now is renamed to Berjaya Hills), somewhere slightly further north from Genting Highland. We stayed in Colmar Tropicale, the only accommodation there, with a French theme. The buildings are made looks like French castles, and there are performance on the street, and very nice night views.This is a very small hill indeed. There aren't many places to go, or many things to do. It would be good if you go in a group, so you can do group activities like what we did.On
Parking At Airport 2007-07-08 04:40:00 Usually when I travel on business, I go to the airport by taxi as I could claim the expenses, so I've never have to face with parking issues.Two years ago, we brought our son to KK, and we parked our car at the airport for 2 nights. When we returned, wow! the parking fee was nearly a hundred ringgits. There is no cap to the parking fee, as we were told, so if you park for a couple of weeks, the cost can come up to a thousand! In addition, finding a space in the small car park can also be a stress especially when you have a flight to catch.In Gatwick Parking
, we can online evaluate parking rates from more than 100 different car parks around the airport (see, unlike them, we only have 1 - monoplized!). They have a crawler collecting information from all car parks, help us to find the lowest car park fees from a single website.After evaluating and finding a car park/rate that you are satisfied with, you can book the space online before your flight departure! Upon arrival, just present th
Beijing 2007-07-17 05:38:00 I am going to Beijing
again very soon. This time, I will have a little more time for sightseeing.When I went there on business, I always made sure I visit a site on my last day -- flight usually leaves at 4pm, so I could use the morning - limited to closeby areas. After a few business trips, even without extending on my own expenses, I've managed to covered quite a lot of places. Now, almost got nothing to do, except to shop.For this trip, I discovered this travel blog that listed down the Top Ten in Beijing, which gives me very good ideas.From this travel blog, I've found a few places that I've never known nor visited. On the top pick is: Red Lantern House. This is a hostel in Beijing's historic hutong neighbours. A good way to experience the traditional Chinese style of 'homestay'.Another pick from the list is Wansheng Theatre for their Chinese Acrobat Show at No. 95 Tianqiao Market XuanWu District. I've never been there, but have seen similar acrobat show at Laoshe Teahouse.
Are You Moving? 2007-07-18 22:17:00 When do we move? Bought or lease a new house, or got a new job offering in other city or country?It is not easy planning for a move or relocation. There is a saying in Chinese: moving from upstair to downstair, lost a barrel of wheat (which means things get missing when we move, even for a shortest distance!).Moving
can actually be easy, if you leave this to the professionals. My best friends were reloated to other countries, one in China and one in Thailand. Both used professional movers. These international movers are experts and able to advise and provide guidence, so that you won't leave anything out.These relocation professionals usually provide a one stop solution, able to help in all aspect from real estate, mortgage, auto shipping, moving, insurance, home improvement, careers, etc.One may ask: Why do you need 'careers' service from these agencies? Take my friend's case for example. She moved to China because of her husband's job. She had to quit her highly pay job
The Queen Elizabeth 2 Conference Centre 2007-07-24 22:30:00 The QueenElizabeth
2 Conference Centre
(QEICC) is located in Westminster, London. In terms of location, I think it is the best for any business conference, as it is just situated shadow of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the British Airways London Eye.It has wide variety of rooms available on 6 floors, with syndicate rooms available for group breakout discussions (very useful for workshops!). It also offers wide variety of food for conference organizers. The menu is extensive, from a la carte to buffets, to cocktail party, etc.They also offer event management service that would help event organizers. I've worked with these event managements people before, they help a lot in coordination and making things are in perfect order - less hassle for organizers like us.In terms of accommodations, people can choose to book last minute or book in advance at nearby hotels in London. Hotel in London is always perceived as very expensive, especially after conversion to RM. I am surprised to
The Obelisk 2007-07-24 21:27:00 My friend forwarded this to me, and I think it is very interesting to share with you. This was originated from this blog. First, take a look at the pic below. Don't be lazy, try to guess what this obelisk is for? Tips: You unassemble it to use. Still cannot? Okay, it is an outdoor furniture, 4 chairs and a table. Below a few pics from that blog to show you how it is unassembled and used as furniture. I first thought it is a mobile toilet. :P You should go over to that blog for more pics and details of the product.
Today marks the start of the 2008 Olympic (08.08.0... 2007-08-08 23:29:00 Today marks the start of the 2008 Olympic
(08.08.08) countdown. I happen to be in Beijing, lucky enough to have witnessed this and be part of it.There were so many people coming to the Tiananmen Square. I am not a person like crowds, and it is a hot weather (summer), so instead of going there, I went to have nice dinner at the Back Lake. (后海)I am amazed with what the government can do to prevent raining in the city. I was told that they shoot missles to the sky to break the cloud!!!Anyway, clearing the cloud not only prevented the rain, I think the haze is also improved today. Read more:Today
Disgusting Custom Officers 2007-09-19 08:26:00 When DH came back from Shanghai, after retrieving his luggage from the belt, he headed to the exit using the Green Lane (Nothing To Declare).The custom officers stopped him as well as his colleagues and suppliers. They asked to scan their luggage, and then opened DH’s. They asked DH to take out ‘something that looks like a pen’, as a result of the scan.After getting hold of the pen, which is a souvenir from the workshop DH attended in Shanghai, the officer examined it carefully (as if it contains explosive!).The next thing was so damn disgusting! HE PUT THE PEN INTO HIS OWN POCKET!Not only that. He told DH that he has a few friends, pointing at the other officers on duty. His hint was obvious, which he wanted more pens! DH only has ONE, and the one and only pen is already in his pocket.Failed to get more pens from DH, he turned and ‘confiscated’ his colleagues caps, also souvenir from the workshop.They did this in broad daylight as there were very few people around and they w
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