Must See Places in Alaska

I haven't been to Alaska yet but as a dreamer, I would love to visit this majestic place. As I read through the list of places to go in Alaska, I can't help but wonder if I would ever have the chance to Travel Alaska.

So, here is the list of places in Alaska that I got from the book, 1000 Places to See before you Die.

1) Mount Mckinley and Denali Park - This is said to be one of America's greatest Natural wonders. Mount Mckinley is the tallest peak in North America at 20,230 feet ad it's reflection called the Wonder Lake are the primary attractions of Alaska's Denali National Park.

2) Kenai Peninsula - The Kenai Peninsula is a nature-packed area.. where all of Alaska's big-country wonders are available in microcosm: massive glaciers, a filigreed coastlines of inlets perfect for kayaking, and prolifif wildlife and marine life.

3) The Iditarod - .. a grueling sled-dog race across the Alaskan wilderness from Anchorage all the way to Nome on the coast of Bering Sea.

4) The Inside Passage and Glacier Bay - Here you'll see 'power and beauty beyond breathtaking".

Oh, even just seeing the pictures of all these beautiful places makes me want to have an Alaska Travel.

When's the Next Trip?

Nope, there won't be much trips for us in store in the next weeks. Traveling really costs a lot so now we have save up ( or maybe even cancel some future trips) and get settled down a bit here in my Mom in laws place and enjoy Taiping!

I'll surely post more photos from this beautiful town, the Taiping Zoo, Lake Gardens, The Town Center, museum, British Cemetery, Burmese Pool and hopefully we could go up to Maxwell Hills.

Traveling Through TV

I just love to watch all these shows about food, travel and living. Through all these shows, we get to travel and see the world even if we just see a small portion of it. My Mom in law has cable tv and I'm just hooked with watching Discovery Channel's Travel and Living. Their hosts Samantha Brown, Ian Wright, Jennifer and etc are like my travel buddies. LOL!

But seriously, it's entertaining and educational to watch these shows. Good thing there's cable tv available here. And speaking of TV, you might want to check out directv , to get to watch your favorite shows. I've heard there are several good channels and shows available in Direct TV. And if you are thinking of moving, you don't have to worry since its available to whichever state you're going. Moving to Texas? There is Direct TV in Texas too.

How to Have a Stress Free Travel with your Pre schooler

I've found some tips on how to have a stress free travel with a preschooler. HEre they are:

1) Check the car sear or seat restraints before traveling.
2) Practice the rule.
- Before the long trip, practice letting your child seat in the car seat for a long time and try to let him/her get use to it.
3) Make car rules.
4) Provide appropriate play materials.
5) Familiarize your child with your travel plans.
6) Personally involve your child traveler.
7) Establish rules of conduct for traveling.
8) Praise Good behaviour.
9) Stop the car if your child gets out of his car seat or unbuckles his safety belt.
10) Play car games.
11) Make frequent rest stops.
12) Monitor snacks on long trips.

Travel Healthy

The worst thing that could happen before, during or after any travel is getting sick. So, our family make sure that we ( especially our children) are healthy and strong before any trip. There were times that even if they only have a slight fever before the trip, we still go to the doctor and make sure that the fever is not something serious and we also bring our medicine with us.

During our most recent trip to Myanmar, we brought almost all types of medicine and vitamins for our children. We really had to make sure that we had every medication because we were not sure of the prescription rules of the land. And not to mention, there will always be a lot of language gaps and we could end up with the wrong medicine. We experienced this a lot of times in Thailand, when we want to buy some medication from the pharmacy, we end up not getting the medicine at all because of language problems. So, when we feel sick, we immediately go to the doctor , have ourselves checked and get the medicine there itself. That was a safer and hassle free option for us, though not so cost effective.

Speaking of medicine, if you are prone to experience some kind of pain , may it be back pain, muscle pain and etc. I've heard that Tramadol - Drugs & Treatments is a good medicine and the good thing is that you can buy tramadol - online pharmacy. But as with any medicine, please do check out first if there are Side effects with Tramadol .

Blogger's Status: Currently in Taiping, Perak

I'm currently in the beautiful town of Taiping, Perak. We will be based here for quite some time so we're also just taking our time to settle down until our 'itchy feet' and budget allows us to go and visit other places.

For the meantime, we're currently enjoying the Taiping rain ( yes, there's heavy rain right now), the splendid view of the mountains, delicious Taiping iced coffee, Kuay Tiaw and other delicacies. Hopefully, we can have a trip to the Taiping Zooo next week. I'm sure our son will love it there since he's already so fascinated with animals.

Stricter Baggage Rules for Budget Airlines

Bringing excess baggage or luggage was not so much of a problem before because the fees were not so expensive and sometimes you can 'beg' the ground crew to allow your 2-3 kilos excess without fees.

But lately, the airlines especially some budget airlines have lessened their allowable baggage from 20 kilos to 15 kilos and a kilo of excess weight would definitely be charged. I was also surprised during our latest trip because I found out that group check in is not allowed anymore. So, if you're carrying 12 kilos and your friend is carrying 18 kilos, then he either has to pay the excess 3 kilos or take out some things from his bag and put it in your bag. THat's quite a hassle, right?

So, if you're travelling by budget airlines, be aware that your baggage may it be a hartmann luggage, tumi luggage or briggs and riley luggage , must not exceed 15 kilos ( unless of course, you're willing to pay the fees) or you might end up ( like us ) unpacking and repacking our bags at the middle of the airport. Hahaha! That was quite embarrasing but we we didn't have a choice because we didn't want to pay thousands of baht just for excess baggage.

Must See Places in Malaysia

I've just browsed through my book " 1000 Places to See Before You Die" by Patricia Schultz and was curious to see the "Must Go or Must See " places in Malaysia.

So, here it the list:

1) Sipidan Island - " An Epic Diving that rates among the rest. This is located in East Malaysia, Sabah.

2) Head Hunter's Trail - " In the footprints of the wild men in Borneo." Sarawak, Malaysia.

3)The Datai - Luxury at the Jungle's Edge." Laangkawi Island, Malaysia.

4) Pangkor Laut Resort- " A Sultan's Island Escape". Perak, Pangkor, Malaysia.

5) Penang- " Pearl of the Orient". Penang, Malaysia.

One Costly Experience

One disadvantage on living in a foreign land is that people tend to take advantage of you by charging you double or even 10 times the original rate of services or products. And since our knowledge or exposure on certain things are limited, then we don't know where to go to get a fair price or at least reasonable rate for things.

This happened to us in Thailand a few years ago. The toilet in our center was clogged up so, we asked around where to get a plumber and finally manage to get one. The plumber then advised us to contact a company that repairs and drains the sewer. We were quite in distressed at that time because classes were going on and we had to repair the toilet fast. So, after waiting for a few hours, the people came, drained the sewer for about 1 hour and gave us the bill. The did some explanations first before handing us the bill and my Hubby almost fainted when he saw that they charged us 10,000 Baht for the service! My Hubby asked again why it's so high and he again explained everything. We were helpless at that time and didn't have any choice but to write a check to pay for their service.

The next day, we told our friend about our experience and he got shock of the rate and said, that if we call the public sewer service, they only charge 300 Baht for the whole service. TSk...tsk..tsk.. We couldn't do anything at that point anymore, but charge that to experience. It was indeed a costly experience. Next time, we have to ask a few people first ( not just one) for referrals when it comes to services before hiring anyone. This is to make sure that we get the best price and not to be taken advantaged of.

And speaking of plumbing, if you happen to be in San Diego or Atlanta, you can get a good San Diego Plumber or Atlanta Plumber. There's a company that gives the highest quality work and doesn't break your pocket.

Places to Shop in Klang

As mentioned in one of my earlier post, one thing that I like here in Klang is the fact that there are a number of malls, superstores around. Here is a list of the malls and places to shop here in Klang.

* ÆON Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre (Bandar Bukit Tinggi Klang) or simply called the New Jusco - This is my favorite mall so far because its new, big and a lot of shops and food outlets to choose from.
* Bukit Raja Shopping Centre (Bandar Baru Klang) or Jusco in Bukit Raja - It's quite a nice mall except that it has been superseded by the new Jusco in Bukit Tinggi
* Carrefour (Kapar Road) - Oh, as a non Klang resident, we had a difficult time finding this one. Their signages were not accurate. It was written on one of the signages, Carrefour 5 minutes away but it actually took us 10-12 minutes at a normal speed and midway we thought that we were lost.
* Centro Business Centre[1]
* Giant (Bandar Bukit Tinggi) - Just like any other Giant outlets, I find their layout quite confusing and ended up forgetting to buy a lot of things. But they do have a lot of good bargain.
* Harbour Place (Port Klang - under construction) - I'm looking forward for the opening of this mall since its just near to where we are staying.
* Harbour Point (Port Klang - under construction)
* Klang City Square
* Klang Digital Mall (Formerly known as Klang Mid Valley, located adjacent to Klang City Square and Shaw Centrepoint)
* Klang Parade (Meru Road)
* Shaw Centrepoint (Klang Town) - One place that I'm not so keen in going because it's kinda popular for pick pocketing and those sort of things.
* Tesco (Bandar Bukit Tinggi) - I like Tesco
* Indian Street for all the Indian stuffs and clothes

Intermission: Flight Stewards and The Men Pen

Whenever we travel, I can't help but notice the pretty flight stewardess and the good looking stewards. Their faces look so perfect and unblemished. I know for sure that the women use concealers to hide their skin imperfections but I was not so sure if the men use them too. It was only now that I've heard of a concealer stick for men. I guess, it's a great idea to have cosmetics made especially for men. A lot of men especially those whose jobs require them to look good like celebrities, flight stewards, models and etc. will really need this product. Men and women also have different skin types thus a concealer especially formulated for men will turn out to be natural for them. I've seen some male celebrities who used make up and it didn't look so nice on them because it didn't fit their skin type and tone. Instead, they looked awkward and feminine.

I'm certain that mens makeup won't let the men look feminine but instead enhance and emphasize their good looks. And I'm sure that a lot of men are happy with this new product that now they have mens cosmetics available and won't have to secretly borrow their wife's cosmetics.

Blogger Status: Currently in Klang, Malaysia

We're currently in Klang, Malaysia. Klang is the royal capital of the state of Selangor, Malaysia. It's about 45 mins. drive from KL and 10 mins drive from Port Klang.

Klang has been like our 2nd home in Malaysia. We always come here since our base is here. There are many things and places that I like in Klang. Here is my list:



1) I like the Indian Street or Little India. Here we can get to buy a lot of Indian clothes for quite an affordable price.
2) I like the fact that Klang has a lot of shopping malls and supermarkets.. ;) I'll post a list of the shopping malls to be found in Klang.
3) I like the place where all the different places of worship are placed together. It's just at the back of Indian Street, you can see the Tamil Methodist Church, Indian Mosque, Hindu Temple, Chinese Methodist Church, Barnabas Church, Sheik's Temple, Catholic Church and Wesley Methodist church.
4) I like to see the grandeur of the Palace of the Sultan.

A Sad Story from Wittenoom, Western Australia

I've just read a very sad story about what the thousands of people faced at Wittenoom, Western Australia less than 50 years ago. There used to be a big mining and milling company of blue asbestos in the area. Aside from the fact that asbestos is a toxic material, the work conditions of this company was also bad and appalling. As a result, thousands of workers and their families, visitors, tourists, consultants and Government officials were exposed to lethal levels of blue asbestos in the area. Then in 1962, the first mesothelioma case in Australia was diagnosed. He was a worker of the same company. But even with the warnings from Doctors and mining inspectors, the company continued on with their operations giving little thought to their poor workers. Then, as years went by, hundreds more workers fell ill causing pre mature deaths from cancer or asbestosis. This in turn made Western Australia in particular to have the highest rate of malignant mesothelioma than any State in Australia or elsewhere in the world per capita of population.

If you know anyone who has a similar case, someone diagnose with mesothelioma due to poor working conditions, asbestos exposure or a company's negligence, contact a Mesothelioma Lawyer to entitle them to get their compensation.

Future Travel Plans and H1N1

With the widening outbreak of the H1n1 Virus ( Swine Flu) in over 40 countries, I can't help but wonder how this will affect our travel plans at the end of the year. I just hope and pray that this disease will indeed be contained and stopped before more and more people will get affected.

I'm quite impressed though as how fast, this disease is detected. Thanks to the thermal scanners at every airport, mass awareness of about the flu and affected passengers who willingly report after experiencing the symptoms of H1N1 flu. As I looked through the flu map, I've noticed that this time, Asia is not much affected ( except for Japan) and I hope that it'll remain this way and we'll see the numbers decrease.

Traveling with my Baby

One of the most unforgettable experiences that I had was traveling alone with my 5 weeks old baby from Malaysia to the Philippines. Actually, our baby has traveled from Philippines to Malaysia 2 weeks earlier ( she was only 21 days old at that time) but my Hubby was with me during that trip.

What was challenging with this solo travel with my baby was that we had to board the plane 3 times ( from Penang- Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur- Kota Kinabalo, Kota Kinabalo- Cebu City) and take an overnight ship to my Hometown from Cebu City. And not to mention, I delivered my baby via ceasarian section so, I was not a hundred percent fit and strong at that time.

But with lots of prayers and preparation I was able to go through it all courageously. During the 3 flights, my baby was quiet and was just sleeping. I was seated at the front row of the plane with the bassinet but then, my baby refused to be placed inside. I guess it's because the bassinet is too cold and uncomfortable for her. Babies love to sleep in comfy beds with Baby Bedding, I guess. So, I didn't have a choice but to carry her during the entire trip. One of my concerns at that time was what I should do when nature calls. Good thing, I befriended some fellow Filipinas at the boarding gate and so, I was able to ask them a favor to watch my baby while I go to the toilet. I was quite amused by their curiosity as why I'm traveling alone with my baby. So, I had to explain to them that it was an unplanned trip as my father was not well and Hubby can't come because of work.

Everything was fine during the hours flight to Cebu City. In Cebu, my brother and cousin fetched me from the airport and we all boarded the ship to our City. It's a 10 hour trip and it was during this time when my baby was so uneasy and had been crying for hours. We tried everything to soothe her; fed her, wiped her, sang lullabies and danced but she just refused to stop crying. Even fellow passengers were concerned and some gave thier own tips and theories on why she's crying. I guess she was just overstimulated at that time and has come to her limit. But thankfully, around midnight, she stopped crying and I was just sooo relieved.

That's my travel experience with my baby... Thank God that everything went well ( except for the crying part at the ship) and we were able to go back home safely and spent some time with my father. But I learned my lesson: Never travel alone with a 5 week old baby by plane and by ship. It's too much for a poor, tiny baby.

My Observations in Myanmar

I was tempted to entitle this post as 'Culture shocks in Myanmar' as a sequel of my Culture Shocks Posts but then, I realized that some of the things I'll be writing here are not so related to culture, so just to be in the safe side, I'll call this post, My Observations in Myanmar.

Observation #1) "Skirts" - Upon our arrival to Yangon Airport, I was quite impressed by their new and modern international airport. I felt like I was still in Bangkok or LCCT in Kuala Lumpur. But then, when I saw the people waiting outside the airport, and noticed that a lot of men wearing the 'longgi' ( or the sarong for Malays), only then I realized that I'm indeed in Myanmar. Then, a small voice from behind asked, "Why are the men wearing skirts, Amma?", my 5 year old daughter asked. I couldn't help but chuckle as she also quickly observed the 'skirts' just a few minutes of being in Yangon.




Observation #2) "Painted Faces" - If we are conscious not to put too much powder on our faces, not the Myanmar children and women. Many of them like to leave the sandal wood powder ( beige in color) on their faces. The sandal wood cream/powder is like a cosmetic powder for them that is said to make their faces smoother and fairer.

Observation # 3) Beetle Leaves - Don't be surprised if a lot of men will have reddish teeth. Nope, that's not blood but actually beetle leaves being chewed. Chewing beetle nut is quite a common practice for men ( young and old alike) and so is spitting these out anywhere on the streets. So, beware of those things flying over your head!

Observation # 4) Oily Food - We have some local friends in Yangon and most of the time they invite us for lunch in their house. They actually have nice and tasty food but they put a lot of oil in it. As they said, the more oily food they serve to their guests, shows how special they are to them.

Observation #5) Black Out!- Expect the electricity ( even in hotels) to be often cut off once every few hours. Yes, power cut offs are very common in Myanmar. Most of the establishments have generators. WHy? Because their main electricity only runs 6 hours a day and worse, they can't predict which part of the day it'll be on or off.

Observation #6) Street Food- Unless you have a very 'strong' tummy, don't be tempted to try out their street food. Observe how they prepare it first and then you'll know why.

We were only there for 9 days so, all these observations are just mostly based on the obvious things which I saw that are different from my culture and the place I come from. I'm sure there are still a lot of differences left undiscovered as Myanmar is different from the Philippines in many aspects. If you want to read the other side of Myanmar, you might want to check out my other post, The Beautiful Myanmar.

The Paintball Challenge

Paintball is one game that is indeed getting more popular everywhere. This game has already been existing since 1980, but its just now that it is reaching a wide variety of enthusiasts. In Kuala Lumpur alone, there are 4 big paintball fields, several forums dedicated for this extreme sport and a number of shops too selling all the paintball stuff like masks, markers, smart parts vibe, among others. In our city in the Philippines ( Cagayan de Oro), this is also quite a famous sports among the youths and young professionals. And I heard serious paintball players travel around the country and even outside the country for a competition. Cool! If I were younger and more fit, I'd like to try out this game too.

The Beautiful Myanmar

Being a first time tourist here in Yangon, my eyes are set on the beautiful side of this once capital city of Burma now called Myanmar. Yes, I'm still experiencing some culture shocks here but let me save that for another post. First, let me tell you the beauty that I see in this place.

The Lutheran Church

I love the old colonial feel of the place. The church buildings that the British built many years back were just huge and beautiful. Most of the churches are actually very old but nicely restored. Even if the main streets already has a touch of modernity but with the old buildings around it, you can still imagine how it was like back in the olden days.



The people here are warm, friendly and very hospitable. We're amazed by the amount of 'service' they do just to make the guests feel comfortable.We experienced this with our local church friends and other people too. Yesterday, we went to Bogyoke Aung San Market and the place was just so warm. While we were in one shop to buy some souvenir items, a girl seeing that we felt so warm got a fan and fanned us! We politely refused her thoughtful gesture but she insisted.

Simple but beautiful. The people's lifestyle here is just so simple - the way they dress, the food they eat and etc. I guess, the beauty in it lies in the fact, that there's not much luxury and complication in this place.

Yangon is a nice place to visit and experience. But as a foreigner to live her long-term, it indeed requires more adjustments and maybe a complete change in lifestyle.

( Written on 3rd of May 2009)

The Swine Flu in Southeast Asia

It's all in the news now. But I never thought it was so serious until we stepped into the 3 different international airports last week. When we were in LCCT, Kuala Lumpur last Wednesday, I was wondering why all the immigration officers has this cloth to cover their nose and mouth. I thought that they were just paranoid about the swine flu. Then, two hours later, when we landed in Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok I saw more people with the masks on and they even had a kind of camera monitor to scan the each passenger's temperature. Then lastly in Yangon, we were all required to have a temperature scan in the arm area from a small gadget they have.

It was only the next day, after browsing through a newspaper that the flu has indeed reached southeast asia. Will this be another outbreak like the SARS or Bird Flu in which a lot of lives were affected? I surely hope and pray that this outbreak will be contained and stopped before more and more people get affected.

Intermission: More Opportunities

There are more job opportunities available in the internet now. Oh, by the way I'm not talking about paid blogging or other opportunities but this is more for the IT professionals or even those who wants to be an IT professional. You see, with a lot of security issues that surround many online companies, these companies in return are looking for IT security professionals or what they simply call as Certified Ethical Hacker. And the one good news is that this job has one of the highest paying job now in spite of the economic recession that is currently happening.

Are you interested to become an IT Security professional? Then you better check out the EC-Council which offers courses on different categories and they give you a certificate at the end of the course. They offer courses in different categories which includes the following:

• Security Fundamentals
  
• Ethical Hacking
  
• Penetration Testing
  
• Computer Forensics
 
  
• Disaster Recovery
  
• Secure Programming
  

With a lot of internet security issues facing many online companies now, there is a rise on the need for IT security professionals to counter such 'attacks'. And you can be a certified IT security professional by simply enrolling for a course at EC- Council.

So, you want more online opportunities? Then you better check out the  EC Council now.

Visiting Yangon

I'm currently here in Yangon, the largest city of Myanmar. It's already our 4th day here and it feels like I've been here for weeks! I love the feeling of being in a different country again, hearing different language, meeting different people and of course trying some of their delicious food.

I will tell you more about Yangon on my next post and hope to place a lot of photos in here. :)