Saturday, December 23, 2017

Dhaka of Bangladesh

A visit to Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh from 13 to 20 December 2017 with my travel buddy ... It is winter time there and the weather is cooling and pleasant between 17ºC to 24ºC. The sight-seeing attractions are mostly on historical grounds. 

Because of the dry weather, the streets are dusty and dirty. There are 20 million inhabitants in Dhaka with 700,000 rickshaws and 5,500 tuk-tuks (3-wheel auto rickshaws) ferrying people from one point to another swiftly – but not that comfortably and obviously lacking in safety. Traffic there is congested, chaotic and very noisy. They like to honk to provide warning to other road users.

Contrary to our perception, it is quite safe there: we have been walking around for almost a week, even in the evening. Bangladeshis are very hardworking people and they are very busy and focus with the activities that support their hard lives. Taking public transport (such as buses, tuk-tuks, and rickshaws) is difficult due to communication problem as most of them do not speak English.

As for eating out, we only patronize restaurants that have many customers. To avoid having diarrhea, we used the tried-and-tested recipe: eating the briyani chicken rice that comes with a hard-boiled egg every day – costing Taka 120 or RM6 equivalent a plate.

For serious travelers, you may consider visiting Bangladesh, but not recommended for the casual tourists.

Do CLICK HERE to view photos courtesy of yours truly, KC Leong. All photos are taken by smartphone.

 Dhakeshwari Temple ... Built in the 12th century, this Sena-style Hindu temple is considered Bangladesh's National Temple.
 Old Panam City in Sonargaon ... It is an ancient historical city in Bangladesh
 Bashundhara City Shopping Mall .. the modern and leading shopping mall in Dhaka
Rickshaws and tuk-tuks waiting outside a shopping mall, leaving only one lane for traffic. The traffic is chaotic and noisy -- they honk a lot.

Posted by KC Leong

Monday, December 11, 2017

Sekinchan and Sky Mirror

An overnight trip at Sekinchan on 9-10 Dec 2017 visiting the local attractions and enjoying the food in the leading Chinese restaurants, then visited Sky Mirror on the second day. 

Sky Mirror – The entire team of 19 members boarded the boat at a jetty from Kuala Selangor. After about 35 minutes of high-speed boat ride, the boat stopped in the middle of the ocean, and the two young tour guides accompanying us happily announced that we have arrived at the Sky Mirror site. Looking out of the boat, everyone was asking where the land or the beach is!

Then we saw other tourists alighted from other boats. Yes, they were standing on land in the middle of nowhere with a one-foot deep of water. After a while, there were about 25 boats arrived with each ferrying of about 20 people. 

After waited for 30 minutes, Yes! The land emerged from the sea – just like in the Hollywood movies! It was a journey of unique and fun experience. Good to visit the Sky Mirror and experience it for yourself!

Do CLICK HERE to view photos courtesy of yours truly (KC Leong).

 At the Wishing Tree of Sekinchan
 Having fun at Pantai Redang 
 We Love Sekinchan ... (front) Ivy Wong, Yi Ling, Camelia, (back, left): Josephine, Li May, Annie, James Ooi, Yen, Belinda, LeeWY, Michele Lum, Elaine Lee, Ronnie, ChongYF, ChuahTK, Polly Kor, Celine Gan, Monika Ng 
... not in the photo: KC Leong
 The homestay is just opposite the padi field in light golden yellow which is almost time for harvesting
 Sunset at at Pantai Redang before adjourning for dinner
 Chill-out at the homestay ... half-way thorough, the rain came and we just went into one of the rooms labelled as Number 2 and we continued the session.
 Visiting Nan Tian Temple on Day-2
 Visiting 3D Art Gallery 
  Where is the land? A hive of activity at the Sky Mirror site
Elaine Lee and Michele Lum happily walking around the invisible land
 Sky Mirror group photo
Nice reflection of the ...
 Waiting for the "mirror" to appear
The water level has subsided

Posted by KC Leong