-
Herşey Dahil Sadece 350 Tl'ye Web Site Sahibi Ol
Hızlı ve kolay bir şekilde sende web site sahibi olmak istiyorsan tek yapman gereken sitenin aşağısında bulunan iletişim formu üzerinden gerekli bilgileri girmen. Hepsi bu kadar.
-
Web Siteye Reklam Ver
Sende web sitemize reklam vermek veya ilan vermek istiyorsan. Tek yapman gereken sitenin en altında bulunan yere iletişim bilgilerini girmen yeterli olacaktır. Ekip arkadaşlarımız siziznle iletişime gececektir.
-
Web Sitemizin Yazarı Editörü OL
Sende kalemine güveniyorsan web sitemizde bir şeyler paylaşmak yazmak istiyorsan siteinin en aşağısında bulunan iletişim formunu kullanarak bizimle iletişime gecebilirisni
Vietnam - The Hidden Charm
Vietnam is one of the most beautiful countries in the heart of South East Asia. It lies on Indochina Peninsula. It stretches south from the Chinese border along the east coast of the Indochina Peninsula. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, and the East Sea, to the east and the south. With a population of over 86 million and an area of 330,000 square km, our country is developing rapidly. People say that our country is a hidden small dragon. It is now awake and ready to soar to greater new heights. And now you're discovering that small dragon. The topography of Vietnam consists of a complex geography with three quarter mountains and ancient forest, a quarter delta plains. It's filled with exotic fauna, winding rivers and sandy tropical beaches.
Although entirely within the tropics, the Vietnam's climate is different from region to region. The annual average temperature is from 22ºC to 27ºC. The north of our country has cold, humid winters and warm, wet summers, while the south is warm all year with a monsoon season from May to November. Back to our history, 35 years passed since the American War in Vietnam ended. Many foreigners still don't know much knowledge about our small country. In reality, our country has outstanding natural beauty with many small peaceful villages and easygoing people. According to history's relics, our ancestors are Hung Kings. They lived 4000 years ago. Vietnamese believe that they belong to "the children of the Dragon and the Fairy".
Our official language is Vietnamese. Beside the official language, each ethnic minority group has its own dialect that has been used and preserved in daily life. For population and people, although it is a small country with the area of 330,000 square kilometers, there are up to 54 different ethnic groups in Vietnam. Kinh people accounts for nearly 86% of the whole population, and the others are ethnic minority groups about 14%. Nowadays, Kinh people mostly base in plains, especially in the Red River Delta and the Mekong Delta. The ethnic minority groups locate in the mountainous areas. Each group has their own custom and tradition. However, they are all friendly and love peace. Vietnamese are gentle, friendly to visitors. I'm sure you will find that after your excursion.
Spiritual life in Vietnam is a mixture of belief from Confucianism to Buddhism, Taoism and Animism. It's called Tam Giao Dong Nguyen. This means triple religion exist together. Besides, Christianity also play important role in many Vietnamese's spiritual. For the festival, Tet Nguyen Dan is our most important festival. The name Tet Nguyen Dan is Sino-Vietnamese for "Feast of the First Morning". It often celebrates in late January or early February and long in two weeks. This festival welcomes the Lunar New Year and to worship our ancestors. In festival, the children are got new clothes and get lucky money from their parents, grandparents and relation. For adult, they gather and give the best wishes each other. Tet Holiday is also an occasion for pilgrims and family reunions. During Tet, we visit temples and pagodas to make a wish for a luckiness, happiness and success year.
Beside Tet Holiday, we also have many other festivals include traditional and modern festivals. The best time you can part in traditional festival is spring and autumn.
For Vietnamese food, it can't be denied that food in Vietnam is extremely delicious and reflect Vietnamese culture; however, to find exact place to eat is not easy for travelers. Thus, I would like to share some of my experience. I hope it can help some of you. You can try in your free time.
Firstly, Beef Pho, Chicken Pho or some other types of noodle like cold shellfish noodle is good for you. It's similar to Western's soup but it's very special cuisine and taste.
Secondly, some traditional cakes shouldn't be missed, such as shrimp cake. This food is famous for West lake in Hanoi.
Thirdly, spring roll is also a fantastic food; the most famous is crab spring roll. "Pho cuon" another kind of spring roll, it made of "Pho" and you can find this food easily everywhere in our country, but the most special Pho is in Hanoi. Please visit Hanoi to experience an amazing place of food.
About drink, if you're interested in our local beer, don't miss out the draught beer. We call "bia hơi" in Vietnamese. Besides, you can try this drink in other areas, such as Hanoi beer in Hanoi, Saigon beer in HCM city, so on.
Lonny loves Palm Beach
The new Lonny is here (Jan/Feb 2011), and I couldn't help but notice how many times Palm Beach/West Palm Beach showed up in its features. Maybe my radar is on high alert having just traveled there a couple of weeks ago as seen here. But I couldn't help but think that between the homes filled with vintage treasures discovered in West Palm Beach and its Dixie Highway, along with the recent article in Elle Decor about Palm Beach's hotspots, it is quite the coincidence!
There is a whole spread on Lilly Pulitzer and the Fashion Director of the company said it best:
As far as shopping on Dixie Highway and West Palm Beach, more than one feature highlighted their finds from various antique shops:
The chandelier.
The etagere.
This armoire.
The lucite drawers installed in the closet.
The vintage Gracie wall panels.
Headboard, bench, and tables.
*Images via Lonny
Blocked! and other China randoms
- The number one MUST HAVE item in China -- a shiny poofy jacket with a fur lined hood. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has one. Old, young, boys, girls and everything in between. EVERYONE has one. Except me. THIS is a good example of what I am talking about. Are people wearing these at home? I am so behind in the fashion world.
- I am happy to report that ALL BOOTS are now in style. I have seen short ones, tall ones, brown, black, slipper style, high heel, low heel, no heel, furry, pointed, round, square....etc. No matter your boot style, all is good!! Now would be a good time to stock up on all of your favorites. Maybe I need a bigger backpack. Or a Chinese Lady Bag. I guess I am in the right place for that.
- Best thing about China? Meat on sticks. Pork buns on the street. Dumplings on the street. So I guess what I mean to say is...street food. For about a dollar, you can get 2 chicken on a stick, 6 pork bun or 6 dumpling. I have eaten about 100 of each already.
- NOT cheap? Coffee!!!! Darn it. I tried to live without it for a few days and had a huge headache. So, I am living on Nescafe instant coffee for now (and supplementing with a treat of a mocha from time to time)
- A couple of Chinese words (and totally butchered spelling I am sure) I have learned: Thank you = Xiexie (pronounced shay-shay), Hello = ni how
- Price of a beer = .50 cents
- Price of a Starbucks coffee = $4.50
- Price of a clean room, with heat and a hot shower = $12
- Price of a clean room, without heat and who knows if the shower was hot because I wasn't about to try it = $7
- Price of a sleeper bed on a train from Shanghai to Beijing (~650 miles) = $50
That's it for now! I am still emailing posts in and am going to try to hopefully have a couple pictures included here! Please let me know if they don't show up! The round door is in Little Likeng, Wuyuan Province. The tower is the Oriental Pearl in Shanghai.
Fun & Merriment at Amana Waterpark
What is Amana Waterpark?
Tagged as the second fast-rising summer destination in the Philippines, the Amana Waterpark is a 6.4 hectares beach resort that primarily caters to the customers’ overall enjoyment. The owner first visualized the concept of waterpark upon the inauguration of Tampisaw Beach Resort on March 28, 2008. The Amana Waterpark has thirteen types of waves and the Diamond Wave is the biggest of them all. It has 3500 square meter wave-pool. Apart from getting wet, the resort also offers breezy cottages, horseback riding, souvenir shop, and picnic orchard.
Activities & Accommodation
The Amana Waterpark has everything anyone craves for. Like I said earlier, it boasts their 3500-square meter wave pool (Diamond Wave), the 40-foot Man-Made Waterfall, the other thirteen waves, the 500 square meter kiddie pool filled with Dragon Ball Character and the Avatar-inspired pool.
There is also a number of lodging to hop in. There are several cottages with different designs and the VIP rooms which can house two persons only (P2800).
Rates & Fees
For Day Time Swimming (8:30-6:00 PM), adults need to pay P250, children’s rate are P200 while senior citizens are advised to bring their ID and pay P200 only. For Night Swimming (6:30-12 MN), adults, children and senior citizens only need to pay P180, P120 and P120 respectively.
For questions and other concerns, just contact Maricris De Leon at amanawaterpark@yahoo.com or call (044) 661-23-83 and (044) 661-23-84
How to Arrive at Amana Waterpark?
There are three ways to get to Amana Waterpark:
Tagged as the second fast-rising summer destination in the Philippines, the Amana Waterpark is a 6.4 hectares beach resort that primarily caters to the customers’ overall enjoyment. The owner first visualized the concept of waterpark upon the inauguration of Tampisaw Beach Resort on March 28, 2008. The Amana Waterpark has thirteen types of waves and the Diamond Wave is the biggest of them all. It has 3500 square meter wave-pool. Apart from getting wet, the resort also offers breezy cottages, horseback riding, souvenir shop, and picnic orchard.
Activities & Accommodation
The Amana Waterpark has everything anyone craves for. Like I said earlier, it boasts their 3500-square meter wave pool (Diamond Wave), the 40-foot Man-Made Waterfall, the other thirteen waves, the 500 square meter kiddie pool filled with Dragon Ball Character and the Avatar-inspired pool.
There is also a number of lodging to hop in. There are several cottages with different designs and the VIP rooms which can house two persons only (P2800).
Rates & Fees
For Day Time Swimming (8:30-6:00 PM), adults need to pay P250, children’s rate are P200 while senior citizens are advised to bring their ID and pay P200 only. For Night Swimming (6:30-12 MN), adults, children and senior citizens only need to pay P180, P120 and P120 respectively.
For questions and other concerns, just contact Maricris De Leon at amanawaterpark@yahoo.com or call (044) 661-23-83 and (044) 661-23-84
How to Arrive at Amana Waterpark?
There are three ways to get to Amana Waterpark:
- By Bus from Manila: If you’re from Divisoria Terminal, take a bus at Aguila Transit and go directly to Waltermart, Sta Clara. From Waltermart, you need to ride a tricycle to Amana Waterpark.
- By Bus from Ayala/Baclaran: If you are from Baclaran Terminal, find your way to Del Carmen/ Corinthian/Bovjen Bus until you reach Waltermart. From Waltermart, you need to ride a tricycle (P120) to Amana Waterpark.
- By Taxi: You need to pass the Bocaue exit and take Sta Maria-Pandi–Angat National Road. Just follow the Amana Banners with arrow signs along the National road.
Doğumgünü Buluşması.. (21.12.2010)
Doğum günümde canım arkadaşım LaFea ile buluşmak için sözleştik. Mekanımız Asya kıtasında İstanbul'un kaymak tabakası diye tabir edeceğimiz insanların uğrak yeri olan Bağdat Caddesi oldu. Sürekli aynı yerlere gitmekten, sürekli aynı şeyleri yazmaktan hem biz sıkıldık hemde siz okurken bunaldınız :) İşte bu sefer canım dostum bir değişiklik yaparak beni Bağdat Caddesi'nin gizli kalmış nezih mekanlarından biri olan Kırıntı Restaurant a götürdü. Mekan tek kelimeyle harika. Sessizlik ve huzur arayanlar için tasarlanmış, gözlerden uzak, kısacası hem keseye hemde göze hitap eden hoş bir yer.
Gerek garsonlar olsun, gerek sunulan hizmet üst kalitede. Eğitimli ve düzgün kişiler çalıştırılıyor. Yemeklerin sunum tarzı beş yıldızlı oteller statüsünde. Porsiyonlar epey büyük ve gayet doyurucu. İç ve dış dekorda iç açıcı renkler kullanılmış. Yani gelen müşteriyi rahat ettirmek için herşey düşünülmüş. Eee bizde böyle bir ortama gidince karnımızı bir güzel doyurduk :D Ben etli+mantarlı dürüm ve gazoz içerken LaFea'm daha önce deneyip memnun kaldığı Club Sandiviç yemeyi tercih etti.
Güzel harika bir yemeğin ardından caddede bir süre daha turladık. Anladık ki o diyarlar bize göre değil. Taksiye atlayıp sevdiğimiz bir mekan olan Optimum Alışveriş Merkezi'ndeki Robert's Cafe'ye geçtik. Mekanda çok güzel kahve yapıyorlar. Starbucks kahvelerinden hiç farkı yok yani. Biz de LaFea'm ile kesemize hitap eden bu sıcak cafeyi tercih ediyoruz her seferinde. Hem manzarasıda buz pistine bakıyor. Eğer bir gün cesaret edebilirsem mutlaka buzda kaymayı deneyeceğim :) Ben Mocca lı kahve içtim yanında tiramisu ile beraber, LaFea'm da mozaik pasta ve bir bardak çay içti. Hepsi de çok lezizdi. :)
Velhasıl sözün özü diyeceğim odur ki arkadaşlar; içtiğiniz bir bardak su olsa da, dostunuz yanınızda ise eğer dünyanın en lezzetli içeceği olur o size. Çok güzel harika bir gün geçirdik canım dostumla. Bana birbirinden harika hediyeler almış canım benim. Asıl hediyesi doğum günümde hala gelmemişti. Yine de eli boş gelmemiş canım benim. Harika hediyeler ve bu mükemmel gün için tekrar teşekkürler canım benim. Diğer hediyem gelince onun içinde bir güncelleme yapacağım. Nice uzun seneler dostlarımla geçireceğim mutlu, huzurlu seneler diledim bu sene :)
Mor Kurdelalı Tacım
Mavi Kelebek Bilekliğim
Mor Gümüş Bileziklerim
Sağlıcakla Kalın Dostlar....
Monday Escapes
This Monday I'm taking you to a place where...
You can zipline through tropical rainforests with abandon.
Monkeys chase you for food on boats and beaches.
The beaches stretch on for miles and are a surfer's dream.
You can spot clusters of macaws perched on trees.
And can sunbathe on a beach that doubles as a National Park, surrounded by hiking trails, and wildlife.
 |
| Images via Travelmoon |
It's Costa Rica.
El Willy Food Review
When we are traveling, we generally eat a lot of top ramen. For less than 50 cents a meal, or $1.50 a day, this is how we can afford to travel. Seriously. By saving on food, we gain an extra day here or there to do the things we want to do. SO… top ramen is my friend.
However, once every blue moon we like to go out for a "real shebang" and eat at a nice restaurant, if one is available. January's pick of the month was El Willy, in Shanghai. El Willy is a tapas joint and we saw it on the ONE English channel in China that we get, CCTV. We decided to see if it was any good.
By the way, if any of these are spelled wrong, its because this computer doesn't know any Spanish or Italian, and I am not good at spelling. I apologize in advance.
What we ordered:
Pickled anchovies
Octopus with Iberian Ham and garlic aioli (photo at bottom)
Crispy suckling pig, cooked 12 hours
Seared Fois Gras
Pork Loin with arugula and parmesan
Layered Fois Gras pate with croustini
Our Ratings, out of 10: (*=Mr Lovely, & = me)
Food Quality and Taste: *9, &8 (great food, some dishes were small)
Ambiance: *9, &9 (very open space, warm and friendly)
Service: *7, &8 (waiter was very nice, coffee and wine were a little slow to arrive)
Price: *7, &6 (it was a little too expensive for the size of the plate)
Location: *6, &6m (could walk easily to restaurant, however, it had no view whatsoever)
Total: 75 Average = 7.5/10
I would recommend this place to anyone if they are ever in Shanghai and want a nice Spanish meal. My favorite dish sways between the crispy pork and the first fois gras dish. However, if you are looking for a water view, this is not the place for you. If you want huge portions, this is also not where you should go. Stick with the traditional Chinese, family style portions. Mr Lovely had to get a hamburger after eating here.
Please let me know, as I am emailing due to blogger issues: Is there a picture below? Are there any links? I have no idea if anything is working and will be in China with problems for another few weeks.
The photo below should be of the Iberian ham wrapped Octopus. Yum! Hopefully the photo, if it is there, is not super huge.

However, once every blue moon we like to go out for a "real shebang" and eat at a nice restaurant, if one is available. January's pick of the month was El Willy, in Shanghai. El Willy is a tapas joint and we saw it on the ONE English channel in China that we get, CCTV. We decided to see if it was any good.
By the way, if any of these are spelled wrong, its because this computer doesn't know any Spanish or Italian, and I am not good at spelling. I apologize in advance.
What we ordered:
Pickled anchovies
Octopus with Iberian Ham and garlic aioli (photo at bottom)
Crispy suckling pig, cooked 12 hours
Seared Fois Gras
Pork Loin with arugula and parmesan
Layered Fois Gras pate with croustini
Our Ratings, out of 10: (*=Mr Lovely, & = me)
Food Quality and Taste: *9, &8 (great food, some dishes were small)
Ambiance: *9, &9 (very open space, warm and friendly)
Service: *7, &8 (waiter was very nice, coffee and wine were a little slow to arrive)
Price: *7, &6 (it was a little too expensive for the size of the plate)
Location: *6, &6m (could walk easily to restaurant, however, it had no view whatsoever)
Total: 75 Average = 7.5/10
I would recommend this place to anyone if they are ever in Shanghai and want a nice Spanish meal. My favorite dish sways between the crispy pork and the first fois gras dish. However, if you are looking for a water view, this is not the place for you. If you want huge portions, this is also not where you should go. Stick with the traditional Chinese, family style portions. Mr Lovely had to get a hamburger after eating here.
Please let me know, as I am emailing due to blogger issues: Is there a picture below? Are there any links? I have no idea if anything is working and will be in China with problems for another few weeks.
The photo below should be of the Iberian ham wrapped Octopus. Yum! Hopefully the photo, if it is there, is not super huge.

Big Trouble in Little China
Did you know that in China they DO NOT LIKE BLOGGER. In fact, they block it. You cannot get on any blogspot sites (sorry guys, but I am still checking you out in Reader); you cannot get onto blogger.com to post your blogs. So, I am going to try to post by email; hopefully the formatting isn't totally messed up because I have had that experience before when emailing. We shall see. The saddest part is that I can't even access my blog to make sure it posted okay and I can't access anyone else's to comment!!!! This sucks.
I guess you can help me. Is my format messed up? Do you know how to get around the blogger ban in China? I am sorry I am not commenting on anyone's posts!!
Besides that, being in China is interesting. First of all, barely anything is in English; barely anyone speaks English. We always pretty much do all our travel on our own; we don't use tours. Here it is a little bit difficult. You should have seen us when we first arrived at the Guangzhou train station and ALL THE INFORMATION was in Chinese. With kanji (Chinese characters), NOT Latin letters. To top it off, it is almost Chinese New Years, so we arrived and there were 17 mile lines at all the ticket booths. We sat and scratched our heads for a while, let me tell you. We are using a lot of pointing, sign language and nodding etc.
We finally figured it out, paid too much for our train ticket, and were on our way. Next we wanted to do a tour of an area where there were a lot of little towns and ancient architecture. We got our tour, complete with an overpriced driver who didn't speak ANY English! Its been an interesting adventure! Ordering food is a lot of grunting and pointing at pictures, if there are any. Luckily I know how to say Chow Mien (fried noodles) so that is my fall back plan. Hopefully I don't hurt myself, because asking for the hospital would be downright impossible.
To top it off, it is winter. I mean, snowing and freezing cold winter. Many of the places where we, gung ho as we were, thought we would "go hiking", are frozen solid. You can't get in or out and the locals don't have any water or electricity. But it is beautiful all the same. We are in Shanghai now, more on that later, and heading for Beijing in a few days, more on that later as well.
I hope it is warmer where you are than it is here! Please let me know if anyone has any tech savvy Chinese blogger evasion tips!!!
I am attempting to post a photo below. Please let me know if there isn't one!!! It is Shanghai at night.

Kayıtlar
