May 30th - June 22nd Kuala Lumpur & Bali

"Following my gut"

It was a tough decision to head back to Asia after coming home for just a month, but then I thought to myself this is a once in a life time experience, sometimes u just gotta follow your gut. So I headed off again. This time spending time in Bali with someone special.

We stayed at the Nikko Bali Resort in the upscale Nusa Dua area. The commute was a bit far to other attraction such as Ubud and Kuta beach, the benefit was the private beach and a peace of mind being away from the crowd. Taxis for us was the most suitable transport being in that region.

Jimbaran was very cool as beach side restaurants competed for our business as we walked down the beach. Our Seafood platter came up to around $65 USD for both of us, which included lobster, crab, fish, squid, etc. plus two drinks, and a chauffeur back to our hotel. While enjoying our dinner, a group of local singers come by our table and performed a couple of songs (Eternal Flames & Hello).

Kuta beach is a great location for shopping and partying, the beach is packed with people which also made it a challenge to relax. There were a lot of locals loitering around oddly I am still able to see a few visitors trying to relax on the beach. Kuta is a bit too noisy and crowded for our liking, it seemed like a city rush hour on a beach. The drive up to Ubud and a chance to have lunch at a volcanic site was simply breathtaking.

Bali was quite an experience for me, as this is the first Indonesian region I've been to and I had a chance to see first hand just what a beautiful yet tragic place this is. Bali is world famous for its beautiful beaches and party atmosphere, but we can definitely see the effects of unstable government and the 1997 economic bomb. While driving around the region, we can definitely see the thriving economy it once was, with unfinished buildings in the midst of construction now abandoned leaving it to stand in ruins.

April 4th - 12th Singapore & Hong Kong

Off to S'pore to chill, relax, & catch up with a few friends & relatives, before stopping in Hong Kong for a couple of days to shop for clothes & my toy! GX-40 :)

S'pore was exciting as we hooked up w/ my aunt who took us to a few hotspots around town. Hong Kong was good, luckily we had a good recommendation for the Hostel. Staying in Tsim Sha Tsui for $25 USD/night, can't beat it.

Now back to Vancouver...

May 24th - May 25th San Francisco, USA

"Mother's Day"

2008 mother's day Lan & I took mom down to SF for a day, we spent a night in the Nikko downtown SF. A day of shopping, walking, and sight seeing. It was very enjoyable especially for mom, because it's her first time down in SF. There were massive memorial day sale happening down here during this time. Seeing Lan go after those shoes in Nordstrom gives a whole new meaning to survival of the fittest.

March 12th - April 4th Singapore & Brunei

"Time for a rest"

Back to Brunei for 3 weeks, leaving S'pore on the 17th to Brunei, and returning on April 4th to meet up with Simon.

FYI, for Royal Brunei Airlines I was told that you can't earn miles if you book your airfare via the internet, only at their counter. WTF? Are we still living in the stone age? I think most ppl in the new world would prefer doing things online rather than physically have to go through the hassle of going to a travel agent's counter & their offices aren't in the most convenient of areas to commute to.

March 7th - 12th Manila & Boracay

"Chaos in the city to a calm place with white sand & clear water"

After landing in Manila from an early m0rning departure from S'pore, the private hotel car took us to our hotel, Mandarin Oriental in the Makati district. Wow, amazing service, too bad they had no where to sit in the lobby. Let me tell you, you have to go to Manila to see the contrast between the Makati area vs. the others. Many of the new shopping district Greenbelt & Mall of Asia are very similar to North American shopping, in fact a lot of stores that you might find in Canada are all here. Next morning, at the domestic airport, I witnessed mobile mass being performed in the departure area. Can't make it to Church on a Sunday, the Church will come to you.

The hightlight of our Philippine trip is for Boracay! White sand, clear water and of course one crazy life experience I still can't quite make sense of it all yet. Richard, Simon, & Lucian you guys know how this trip was suppose to go from day one and how it turned out is just crazy, too many things that didn't work out to be a coincidence & too last minute to be a setup, let's just see if it's fate.

March 4th - 7th Sydney, KL, & Singapore

"In Transit"

3 plane rides in 3 days...
KL for one night
Singapore for two nights before heading to the Philippines on the 7th

February 18th - March 4th Australia

"Cheers mate! from the Land-Down-Under"

Very similar to Canada, especially with our dollar almost being 1:1. When I first landed in Perth, Traveldex actually charge a $20 commission for exchanging cash, giving me less Aussie dollar back than my Canadian dollar. WTF!!! It was cheaper withdrawing from the ATM. BMO & MasterCard actually gave better rates than these guys here!

A few things that are different besides the right hand drive. 10% taxes are included in all the prices, and yes Food. In most parts are a lot more expensive even with the taxes taken out. One great thing is, no tips needed for majority of the restaurants. I did have my most expensive subway 1ft in Perth I think it cost $9. Drinks here for a 750ml of Lipton ice tea cost no less than $2.50. The most expensive Vietnamese food, the regular house special noodle and the usual ice coffee $16!!!

What's really nice about Australia is they have a lot of war memorabilia and older style Victorian buildings preserved. A lot of their new buildings will incorporate the old structure giving that antique look. Very beautiful.

Trains in Melbourne is pretty confusing though, as u can be on one train going somewhere, but when it stops @ the next platform, the train destination changes. So, iPod riders, be alert on your train destination! However, $2.90 day pass on a Sunday rocks! & a wonder thanks for uncles & their families whom I was surprised that they actually remembered me & my sisters. The dinner was great!

Sydney is very nice, as the Opera Quay had almost the same feel as Granville Island looking across to downtown under the Burrrard Street bridge. Didn't need to spend much on transport as the train took me straight to downtown where walking took me to most places within the city.

January 25th - February 18th Brunei

"Happy New Year!"

19 years since I've spent CNY with my family back home! Was ever it hectic! Lion dances, red pockets, & of course, lots of screaming kids & fire crackers everywhere! We also celebrated birthdays including my mom's, and her youngest sister's 30th anniversary. Congrats aunt Betty & uncle Sean.

January 23rd - 25th Macau

"Grand Waldo, Great Hotel, Great Family oriented Spa! (They even have a baby sitting department!"

It was the first time for my mom in Macau. After arriving late from HK on the 23rd, we quickly took the ferry over to Macau where we had a great hotel with great service. For $55 CDN u get a haircut, free food, 1hr thai massage, and I could have hung around the spa for like 10 more hours at the lounge area if I wanted to. Where else can u get that kind of value? Oh, and the Jerky in the city centre, 7lbs for $15 CDN, OMG!

The Venetian Macau is HUGE! way bigger than the one in Vegas, huge shopping complex, great food, and lots of tables.

January 21st - 23rd KL

"2 short nights"

A short pit stop before heading over to Macau for a couple of nights to meet up with my mom in HK on the 23rd.

January 18th - 21st Langkawi

"A Peaceful Get Away"

A beautiful island where Anna and the King was filmed, located not far away from the famous Phuket. A peaceful island, white sand beaches, a perfect get away. Only thing is that I wished I had my bike here to take on some of these curvy roads!

January 3rd - 18th KL & Cameron Highlands

"Strawberry & Tea anyone?"

Got into KL via bus from Singapore, it was cheap, efficient, and comfortable way to go. Flying between Singapore & KL is not worth it if u factor in the time of arrival and departure at the airport. The bus had a lounge at the lower deck equipped with power outlets!

Stayed with my uncle for the first week, then moved on to my aunt's place. Went to Cameron Highlands and a few other places outside of KL. Great food, great prices, and great weather...

December 29th - January 3rd Singapore

Happy New Year!

What else can I say about this place. I love it!

Met (for the first time) up with an uncle, had a blast during NYE. Fireworks & Ministry of Sound. Thanks everyone for making NY such a blast!

December 28th - 29th Transport

5 Cities in 48hrs. Guangzhou, HK, Macau, Bangkok, Singapore

Woke up in Guangzhou @ 0700.
Took a 9am train to HK.
Met up with Simon at 1130.
Met up with Richard, and dropped off Luggage @ his hotel at around 13:00.
4 of us had lunch.
We then shopped. (Yes, they had a Replay store!)
Then hooked up with a few of Simon's other buddies, had dinner, went drinking, shared stories.
Midnight, Simon & I went back to Richard's hotel to grab our stuff, and we're off to Sheung Wan, caught a Ferry over to Macau.
Macau we cruised the MGM grand at around 2am, no internet access @ the lobby, then went straight to the Macau airport.
Waited till morning for our 11am flight to Bangkok. Damn it was cold.
Transferred @ Bangkok airport to Singapore, arrived in Singapore at 11:45.

December 24th - 28th Guangzhou

Merry Christmas!

Back in Guangzhou, finally get a chance to rest and catch up on some work. Not much happened during these few days except for some resting and a little bit of drinking on my last night there. Huge restaurants with nothing but private rooms. What I liked best about Christmas in China? Not much happens here except for decorations. Isn't that how it should be? No non sense about the material aspect of the holidays, instead, just have a nice meal with your family.