tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197006522024-03-08T01:30:32.144+01:00The Wandering Continues...Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-67922916155446784272008-12-22T20:53:00.003+01:002008-12-22T20:57:35.340+01:00Free Fiscal starting 2009<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY2xx9FKBpW7yeidsEERe5E8cpVT5j97qrIfKyTWy8F3L7QV4gpXFyNgn9xqcFP6KG2nLb3cNqgNhgqLhtnndUJjjctPrC6H1rUm4AvT58q_Nqx-W7ToBaiPymL3r1Qe2IuNom/s1600-h/image0011%5B1%5D.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY2xx9FKBpW7yeidsEERe5E8cpVT5j97qrIfKyTWy8F3L7QV4gpXFyNgn9xqcFP6KG2nLb3cNqgNhgqLhtnndUJjjctPrC6H1rUm4AvT58q_Nqx-W7ToBaiPymL3r1Qe2IuNom/s400/image0011%5B1%5D.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282705373867402002" /></a><br />A piece of good news for fellow travellers in Indonesia!<br />Happy Holidays and all the best for the new year 2009!!Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-14201349324709538922008-11-16T15:20:00.001+01:002008-11-16T15:42:30.208+01:00Photos of the weekmore on Shanghai streets<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"> <param name="flashvars" value="&offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157609179194172%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157609179194172%2F&set_id=72157609179194172&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=63821"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=63821" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="&offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157609179194172%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157609179194172%2F&set_id=72157609179194172&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br />PS: 5 weeks to go for Chrismas holiday! Yay!!!Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-14658925685150356082008-11-09T12:40:00.008+01:002008-11-16T15:47:30.004+01:00A Golden Week in Japan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XgMFI-hFleKAf21YlnEdwPI9wAlHtm2jgx9OgMlu2g-9HAAJ5bEj7FSqRd7hQRwyBWLWjJ1rTvYXgC8T9Da8nEb6fpii0XWsyCEHczr1bob4jMhKC4zJj3CdwJe0ABacvhP_/s1600-h/IMG_7678.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XgMFI-hFleKAf21YlnEdwPI9wAlHtm2jgx9OgMlu2g-9HAAJ5bEj7FSqRd7hQRwyBWLWjJ1rTvYXgC8T9Da8nEb6fpii0XWsyCEHczr1bob4jMhKC4zJj3CdwJe0ABacvhP_/s200/IMG_7678.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268701315439518162" border="0" /></a>I’ve been receiving complaints with the fact I haven’t posted this for so long. *sigh*<br /><br />I must say that work has been really exhausting (but then again, when it is ever not exhausting??). Especially during this economic crisis where you’ll read everywhere in the newspaper how <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27609471">Detroit Big Three are in serious financial problem</a> at this moment. And of course, being an automotive supplier, my company receives the immediate impact which obliged us to make a dozen (if not thousands!) emergency plan scenarios. The problem is, many people believe that China can help to survive this world economic crisis. Unfortunately, it is not the case! Automotive market here in China has been experiencing downward turn in the last quarter. I even spent a day browsing the internet for effect of economic crisis in China and found myself really speechless to read that <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-factory3-2008nov03,1,2982466.story">there have been 67.000 factories closed in China and another 33.000 factories are expected to closed in the last quarter 2008</a>. That is a big Problem! (with capital P!)<br /><br />And not to mention that my supposed to be “retirement fund” is now down to the drain. What a life! Now I have to work twice the hard to buy that villa by the beach!! :-(<br /><br />Anyway, back to the original story line, Japan. <br /><br />We went to Japan to spend the October Golden Week. In the beginning, we were not too excited to go there as we thought Japan will be just one of the boring industrial countries. Also to be really honest, the only reason we decided to go there is only because the flight ticket to go back to Jakarta was really expensive. It would cost us around 25K RMB (around 2500 EUR) to go back to Jakarta for a week while, being a Finance person myself, I’ve calculated that with that money I will be able to travel to Japan for a week!<br /><br />But then, to our surprise, Japan turned out to be a beautiful and relaxing trip!<br /><br />There are many tips and tricks to travel smart in Japan, but the one I have to give the credit to <a href="http://gutereise09.blogspot.com/">Gutereise09</a>, an active collaborator in <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa">Thorn Tree forum</a> from <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/">Lonely Planet</a>. The guy really helped us a lot to find good places to sleep, how to make the most use of our limited time and how to travel smart!<br /><br />We decided to go to Japan for 8 days and we visited Hiroshima, Kyoto, Lake Kawaguchi and Tokyo. Most of the time we travelled with the Shinkansen bullet train using the <a href="http://www.japanrail.com/">Japan Rail Pass</a>, allowing us to travel as much as possible and as fast as possible in one week.<br /><br />I personally found Hiroshima is very important for me as it is one of the milestone for Indonesian Independence. If it is not for Hiroshima bombing, Indonesia will be probably under Japanese colonialism today. <br /><br />Kyoto is more the old traditional Japan where you can see ladies dressed in Japanese traditional kimono on the street. In Kyoto you'll find yourself hopping from one temple to another. I found Japanese most popular temple, Kiyomizu temple is too overated! It is packed with tourists and you must pay 1000 Yen in each places you want to pray (not that I am praying but I don’t like to have to pay when I want to pray!). Our favourite was Ginkakuji Temple. It is too bad that we didn’t do the philosopher’s walk from Ginkakuji to Nyakuoji temple.<br /><br />However, we were so LUCKY in Kyoto that we met the real <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maiko">Maiko</a> in the back street of Gion. Again, thanks to <a href="http://gutereise09.blogspot.com/">Gutereise09</a>!<br /><br />On the way from Kyoto to Tokyo, we stayed overnight in a Japanese ryokan in Lake Kawaguchi. It was a quite funny experience for us to sleep on the floor and to sleep with Japanese <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukata">Yukata</a> which is really warm for a piece of material wrapped to your body! We were not lucky to take the sunrise photos of Mt. Fuji (we were already warned before) but we were happy when the clouds started to disappear around noon, allowing us to take as many photos as we want of the number one mountain in Japan!<br /><br />The last stop for us before departing back to Shanghai was Tokyo.<br /><br />The city is just a normal metropolitan city and Shanghai is much more beautiful than Tokyo. But a visit to <a href="http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/youkoso/about_e.htm">Tsukuji Fish Market</a> on early Saturday morning really paid off! We had sushi breakfast and ended up buying a half kilo maguro to bring back to the hotel. Jorge, who is known to be the tuna lover, was having an orgasm!!! (Ok, to be fair to Jorge, not only because of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguro">maguro</a> but also because of the 100MB internet connection in Japan!) Jajaja…<br /><br />So, stop with the story, here is the sets of pictures and of course, the famous Shibuya crossing as seen in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0463985/">The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift</a>!<br /><br /><embed src="http://apps.rockyou.com/rockyou.swf?instanceid=126398715" quality="high" wmode="transparent" flashvars="appWidth=325&appHeight=244" name="slideshowpreview" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="426" align="middle" height="320"></embed><br /><img src="http://apps.rockyou.com/dot.gif?w=SS&d=F4F4&c=3&id=&=.gif" /><a target="_BLANK" href="http://www.rockyou.com/?type=slideshow&refid=126398715"><img title="RockYou slideshow" src="http://apps.rockyou.com/images/logo-mini.gif" border="0" /></a> <a target="_BLANK" href="http://www.rockyou.com/slideshow-create.php?source=cyo&refid=126398715">Create Your Own</a><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-p-8s52Mdzs&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-p-8s52Mdzs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-42760391948879101812008-11-07T15:01:00.003+01:002008-11-07T15:34:28.491+01:00Photos of the week - One day in the marketJorge had to make an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture">aperture</a> test with his new camera so we were off to visit a local traditional market for a change.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"> <param name="flashvars" value="&offsite=true&intl_lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157608736296807%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157608736296807%2F&set_id=72157608736296807&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=61927"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=61927" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="&offsite=true&intl_lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157608736296807%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157608736296807%2F&set_id=72157608736296807&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-78551440805037977072008-11-05T15:41:00.003+01:002008-11-05T17:37:42.856+01:00Obama's former house in Jakarta up for sale<span style="font-style:italic;">In the spirit of celebrating Obama's victory in the US, here is what I have found in local Indonesian Newspaper, <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com">The Jakarta Post</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Obama's former house in Jakarta up for sale</span><br /><br />Robin McDowell , The Associated Press , Jakarta | Tue, 10/28/2008 9:32 PM | Jakarta<br /><br />The small colonial-style house Barack Obama lived in as a child has received a steady stream of visitors ahead of the U.S. presidential election, from potential buyers and journalists, to a businessman who wants to turn it into the "Sweet Home Obama Bar."<br /><br />Tata Aboe Bakar, the 78-year-old owner, is in little mood to sell, noting that the property, sequestered between a large mosque and park in an upscale neighborhood of the Indonesian capital, has been in the family since 1939.<br /><br />Much, he said, would depend on the price.<br /><br />The two-bedroom pavilion Obama lived in - initially built as a guesthouse - would be sold with the main, sprawling residence next door and the 12,900 sq. foot (1,200 sq. meter) plot of land. Together, they have an estimated market value of $3 million dollars. And that does not take into account the potential Obama-factor if the Democratic presidential candidate wins on Nov. 4.<br /><br />Aboe Bakar says one broker claimed a U.S. Embassy official was ready to pay five times its worth if that happened, though Tristram Perry, the embassy's public diplomacy officer, said he was not aware of any such offer.<br /><br />Obama moved to Jakarta with his American mother and Indonesian stepfather in 1967, spending the first two years in another humble home, where chickens and ducks used to cackle in the backyard and two baby crocodiles slithered around in a fenced-off pond.<br /><br />They relocated to the small red-tile roofed pavilion with art deco windows on Taman Amir Hamzah Street in 1970 when Obama was 9 years old and stayed there for the next two years.<br /><br />Aboe Bakar has few stories to tell about Obama as a child, except the time his poodle ran away, never to be seen again.<br /><br />"Oh, he cried for two days," the former Navy admiral said, wearily taking a drag from his third cigarette as he showed off a long list of visitors who have knocked on his door in recent weeks.<br /><br />He also flashed a photograph of the young family sitting on a wooden bench in the front yard that, like much else, remains in place nearly four decades later.<br /><br />Among those who have expressed interest in the house have been Bart Bartele, a Dutchman who owns several popular pubs in Jakarta.<br /><br />He says he offered to rent the smaller pavilion to open the "Sweet Home Obama Bar" - a cafe that would feature an "Obama-blend coffee," a mix of beans from Kenya and Java. He would also serve "stroopwafels," a caramel-type treat brought to Indonesia during the centuries-long occupation of the Dutch.<br /><br />"The idea is to have snacks, simple food and maybe some merchandise," Bartele said, adding that he was not certain, with all the recent interest, if Aboe Bakar would go for it. "We'll see. It's mostly just for fun anyway."<br /><br />The article and pictures of the house can be seen <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/28/obama039s-former-house-jakarta-sale.html">here</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">What can I say, I guess some people are very rich and some are not so lucky. <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/11/05/owner-obama039s-house-passes-away.html">The owner of the house passed away one day after Obama is confirmed to be US President.</a></span>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-82551604706298338602008-10-30T13:53:00.002+01:002008-10-30T13:56:41.127+01:00December Travel Plan - Status Confirmed!These confirmed our travel plan in December!<br /><br /><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/10/29/un.us.cuba.embargo.ap/index.html">U.N. resolution urges U.S. to lift Cuba embargo</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1853252,00.html">How Cuba's Oil Find Could Change the US Embargo</a>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-19115574264977357092008-10-29T16:11:00.001+01:002008-11-09T11:38:11.548+01:00Photos of the week<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="300" data="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=61927" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"> <param name="flashvars" value="&offsite=true&intl_lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157608475710548%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157608475710548%2F&set_id=72157608475710548&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=61927"></param> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=61927" bgcolor="#000000" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="&offsite=true&intl_lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157608475710548%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F11902320%40N00%2Fsets%2F72157608475710548%2F&set_id=72157608475710548&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-16045437126633500262008-10-26T12:12:00.004+01:002008-10-26T12:47:28.858+01:00Kuala Lumpur - a weekend gatewayThis is a retroactive post.<br /><br />We stopped by in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_lumpur">Kuala Lumpur</a>, Malaysia on our way to <a href="http://theworldwanders.blogspot.com/2008/09/maldives-paradise-on-earth.html">Maldives</a> in August. <br /><br />We have a friend who is currently working in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_lumpur">Kuala Lumpur</a>, so she took us around to see as much as possible of the city and also <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Caves">Batu Cave</a>. But I must say, for us, Kuala Lumpur is not so much different to Jakarta, Indonesia except that they have more better infrastructure than Jakarta. Nevertheless, it was ok for just a 3-days-visit.<br /><br /><embed src="http://apps.rockyou.com/rockyou.swf?instanceid=125495326" quality="high" wmode="transparent" flashvars="appWidth=325&appHeight=244" name="slideshowpreview" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="426" align="middle" height="320"></embed><br /><img src="http://apps.rockyou.com/dot.gif?w=SS&d=F4F4&c=3&id=&=.gif" /><a target="_BLANK" href="http://www.rockyou.com/?type=slideshow&refid=125495326"><img title="RockYou slideshow" src="http://apps.rockyou.com/images/logo-mini.gif" border="0" /></a> <a target="_BLANK" href="http://www.rockyou.com/slideshow-create.php?source=cyo&refid=125495326">Create Your Own</a>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-5258624190738846392008-10-19T09:07:00.008+02:002008-11-16T15:47:00.488+01:00Photos of the week - Moving ObjectsJorge started his photography class 2 weeks ago and he received 1 assignment for each week. Last week assignment was to capture moving objects. So here are some of the results.<br /><br /> Reflection<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2Qv1nWBerkHjoUnr9hlh181FYPd8ClSQjXyzR6j6Zj_mdS5dqKEkPbaMSd5Obi-CAyicnetAoOuWPX1msJeE_NfkghY_oQ3ZFsNvgfp8n9rZPMd19jbAYKDZ2n8o1lO-ojF8/s1600-h/._IMG_5517+f4.5+1.5s.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2Qv1nWBerkHjoUnr9hlh181FYPd8ClSQjXyzR6j6Zj_mdS5dqKEkPbaMSd5Obi-CAyicnetAoOuWPX1msJeE_NfkghY_oQ3ZFsNvgfp8n9rZPMd19jbAYKDZ2n8o1lO-ojF8/s400/._IMG_5517+f4.5+1.5s.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258762362867897218" border="0" /></a><br /> Lujiazui at Night<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9cS42CZcht6yUEmeGSmkZkAUBR4cT-0Ko36RvYHtCuFme-DvuVpRvt15kwkEDD6CJmlugt5jmEFGcXePw9-3n6gmoV8yOsheHbwy0UusWx2aCz19s0Z0nfm_GWM4NFAgUizN/s1600-h/IMG_5463+f13+4s.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9cS42CZcht6yUEmeGSmkZkAUBR4cT-0Ko36RvYHtCuFme-DvuVpRvt15kwkEDD6CJmlugt5jmEFGcXePw9-3n6gmoV8yOsheHbwy0UusWx2aCz19s0Z0nfm_GWM4NFAgUizN/s400/IMG_5463+f13+4s.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258760448352485874" border="0" /></a><br /> Rush Hour<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8KA5WcruRb_Lw14BUwHqC8_OGCtL3xFFH4RhHqbHf6n73DDnUAhtTPeqmKo7bkMgWjy8H02FXn9KWa5E3pVhjzZZiOj_33-aKZOnvtS3juL3KraPMFuVaZBIW_yYyI27Jbnj-/s1600-h/IMG_5584+f4+0.125s.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8KA5WcruRb_Lw14BUwHqC8_OGCtL3xFFH4RhHqbHf6n73DDnUAhtTPeqmKo7bkMgWjy8H02FXn9KWa5E3pVhjzZZiOj_33-aKZOnvtS3juL3KraPMFuVaZBIW_yYyI27Jbnj-/s400/IMG_5584+f4+0.125s.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258762367542863922" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Next assignment is called "different perspective". We'll see the result.Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-43103110759486144682008-10-18T12:30:00.003+02:002008-10-18T12:53:23.083+02:00Dance anyone?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXmn8ee05kgCbssrxsdgTRF6dt0v-6wGyCOaJygW1NV3qEnlvd_7gyTThwi0OyVSeBrdAtVTiYOmqUKEvhJOJ27FAI4YNaKu3AofzCPGvyEomWFiSFP56IbLgNocchE2pIeJ7Q/s1600-h/09102008180.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXmn8ee05kgCbssrxsdgTRF6dt0v-6wGyCOaJygW1NV3qEnlvd_7gyTThwi0OyVSeBrdAtVTiYOmqUKEvhJOJ27FAI4YNaKu3AofzCPGvyEomWFiSFP56IbLgNocchE2pIeJ7Q/s400/09102008180.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258442412793938898" border="0" /></a>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-75660438252289189042008-10-10T16:01:00.003+02:002008-10-10T16:04:36.465+02:00World stock market crash!The world stock markets crashed this week. In Indonesia, they even had to stop the trading to prevent further loss. Nevertheless, Jakarta Composite Index are down 20% this week only! European stock market are also in their record low.<br /><br />So I am practically bankrupt now.<br /><br />But for those of you investing in stocks, read <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/08/pf/money_crisis.moneymag/index3.htm">this</a> before you think to sell! But at the end, the decision is yours!Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-25225590891713238012008-09-13T16:02:00.009+02:002008-09-14T17:58:21.258+02:00Maldives - A Paradise on earth!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDWBTjmF2uXn2rK2bg8sRhXlIuVJLLlXDlMc1OcdH5w3Z-SezEpR5esuH4epuIDK9pdxCXOKkgjtWkWdapFqiYxu86yVRYhWOUOjnZg1Xy-m-V4c-ZfGisS_tObO96CRoDboB/s1600-h/337px-Malosmadulu_Atolls,_Maldives.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDWBTjmF2uXn2rK2bg8sRhXlIuVJLLlXDlMc1OcdH5w3Z-SezEpR5esuH4epuIDK9pdxCXOKkgjtWkWdapFqiYxu86yVRYhWOUOjnZg1Xy-m-V4c-ZfGisS_tObO96CRoDboB/s200/337px-Malosmadulu_Atolls,_Maldives.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245510344441257250" border="0" /></a>I believe you'd agree that pictures speak more than word can describe! Maldive islands are definitely the must go holiday place if you aim for total relaxation! You'll feel like reborn when you are in there!
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<br />We stayed for a week in <a href="http://www.kuramathi.com/">Kuramathi</a> island, which is located about 1.5 hrs with speed boat from the capital city Male. The island has a beautiful and long sandbank, beautiful nature, beautiful white sandy and clear water beach. From the shore, you can even see baby sharks hunting a school of small fishes.
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<br />Unfortunately, Maldives is one of the place that feared to vanish due to the global warming!
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<br />More information about Maldives can be found <a href="http://www.visitmaldives.com/">here</a>.
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<br /><embed src="http://apps.rockyou.com/rockyou.swf?instanceid=122584920" quality="high" wmode="transparent" width="426" height="320" flashvars="appWidth=325&appHeight=244" name="slideshowpreview" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"/><br><img src="http://apps.rockyou.com/dot.gif?w=SS&d=F4F4&c=3&id=&=.gif"><a target="_BLANK" href="http://www.rockyou.com?type=slideshow&refid=122584920"><img title="RockYou slideshow" src="http://apps.rockyou.com/images/logo-mini.gif" border="0"></a> <a target="_BLANK" href="http://www.rockyou.com/slideshow-create.php?source=cyo&refid=122584920">Create Your Own</a>
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<br />Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-23888544494583773732008-08-23T12:26:00.006+02:002008-08-24T03:50:17.681+02:00Naive or just plain stupid? You decide!This is a conversation I thought I will never have with my friend; especially not in 21st century anyway!<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Buzz..</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Her: Hey, I have a funny story for you! (sounds really excited)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Me: Really? And what would that be? (while thinking..what could be more exciting than a beach in Maldives??)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Her: I received yesterday a text message from O2 Telecom informing me that I have won 500,000 Pounds in a lottery in London!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Me: Hmmm (started to get suspicious, especially there is no O2 Telecom provider in Indonesia). Are you sure O2 Telecom?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Her: YES!!!!! (notice the exclamation marks!) I win 500,000 Pounds! Imagine all the things I can do with that money! And all I have to do is just to reply to an email address and give them my personal data so they can arrange the fund transfer! I am so rich now! (and still trying to go on with that “I-just-hit-a-black-jack-story”)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Me: (immediately sit straight and serious) Ok, now, we have to talk! (and start to explain her about the world of spam and hustler and identity theft).</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">...</span><br /><blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><br />Guys, seriously, if anyone of you still don’t realize how dangerous the world is out there, then use this as my token of friendship to you!<br /><br />NEVER, and I am seriously saying NEVER (notice the capital letter!), believe anyone telling you that you win a lottery if you have never purchased any lottery ticket before! Never try to open you spam email, delete them immediately! You will never know if they attach viruses in the mail or hidden program to take your harddisk data! NEVER give your personal identification to somebody/an organization that you are not familiar with, especially providing your personal data (date of birth, address, etc) and bank account/credit card information to somebody you don’t know via email/instant messengers.<br /><br /><br />Beware of the identity thefts out there ready to get your informations and use it to open a credit card under your name and use it to make online purchases and left you with a huge credit card bill.<br /><br />If you feel something is too good to be true, then be suspicious and check before you do what they ask!<br /><br />Remember, in this world, there is no such thing as miracles!<br /><br />May God bless us!Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-49152036365413825232008-08-17T11:05:00.002+02:002008-08-17T11:13:26.421+02:00We won!<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Yesssssssssssssssssssss</span>!<br />First (and perhaps the only) Gold Medal for Indonesia in Badminton Men's doubles!<br />And to add to the excitement, they won it in the Independence Day of Indonesia!!!<br />That will for sure make the headline of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">tomorrow</span> newspapers!!!!<br /><br />Congratulation to Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan!<br />You guys rock!!!!<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"></span><br /><br />PS: It definitely kills China's dream to win all gold medals in Badminton! Yay!!!Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-11825968285603041312008-08-10T17:30:00.007+02:002008-08-23T12:45:19.703+02:00Finally!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-f-eji3nir7KjgOXz48fbZGluPxJsnXFM9o7qlk4bhXda-yVt6JODlhpkqfTJ7JxSSRgu9rCU4uzQwmOm3gZBnEOvDu7YfEE4oSHjE7_rVCQBWhftYv-9-66beiDKqsyigkA/s1600-h/oly4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-f-eji3nir7KjgOXz48fbZGluPxJsnXFM9o7qlk4bhXda-yVt6JODlhpkqfTJ7JxSSRgu9rCU4uzQwmOm3gZBnEOvDu7YfEE4oSHjE7_rVCQBWhftYv-9-66beiDKqsyigkA/s200/oly4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232913069880140626" border="0" /></a>So it's officially started!<br /><br />The fireworks and the lighting of the Olympic torch was incredible! But then again, the <a href="http://www.fireworks.com/safety/fireworks-history.asp">Chinese did invent the fireworks</a> and they would like to make sure we know it.<br /><br />We celebrated the evening in a bar next door. I would like to post a short clip to show the atmosphere and enthusiasm but haven't managed to edit it so far. So it has to come later!<br /><br />Meanwhile, we are now off to our one week vacation. This time: <a href="http://www.visitmaldives.com/">Maldives</a>!<br /><br />Photos and many other beautiful photos from the ceremony can be seen in <a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/2008_olympics_opening_ceremony.html">The Boston Globe</a>.Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-10899234493005992432008-08-06T13:37:00.002+02:002008-08-06T13:43:39.382+02:00D-2In two days the most awaited sport event of the year will be happening in Beijing.<br /><br />The event will be taken place mostly in Beijing, which is around 1300km from Shanghai or about 2 hrs with plane or 9 hrs driving but you won't believe all the security measures they have implemented for this event here in Shanghai.<br /><br /><ol><li>No liquid allowed for air travel has been implemented since min. 3 months ago (see this <a href="http://theworldwanders.blogspot.com/2008/04/countdown-beijing-100-days-to-go.html#links">post</a>)</li><li>X-ray machines and dogs check all luggage going in and out of China</li><li>The government has imported millions of "explosive residue detection kits" from US to swab all incoming and outgoing passengers in order to see if they have been recently in contact with explosive materials</li><li>All bags must pass security control in the subway stations</li><li>All shops and vending machines located in subway stations are closed for a month without government compensation to shop owners (imagine if they try to implement this in a capitalist country!)</li><li>The government removes the business license of many small Chinese manufactures if they don't meet certain environmental standard (resulting unfortunately major price increase in China)</li><li>The government enforced "no free plastic bag" regulation when shopping in any store in China, also in spirit to be more environmental friendly (in Germany is only applicable for shopping in supermarket, but not when you shop for clothes in the mall!)</li><li>Gasoline stations are only open before 9 am and after 7 pm at night because the government banned trucks traffic into the city during the day time (imagine the long queue every night!)</li><li>And last, yesterday my friend told me that the government will ground all Chinese airlines traveling any places on earth for a period of 5 hours before and after the opening ceremony! (Thank God I am flying on Saturday!!!)</li></ol><br />Another blogger wrote, and I must agree to his words, "Almost all of the action is taking place in Beijing, hundreds of miles from here, but from the frantic security tightening around town, you’d think Osama Bin Laden was coming to officially open a new Mosque here in Shanghai."<br /><br />I'll be glad when it's all over!!Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-64526600638873322442008-08-05T08:19:00.003+02:002008-08-05T09:30:47.804+02:00Complaint to China Post!This is a complaint to China Post!<br /><br />It has been a while since I came back from Germany but I haven't managed to post this in time.<br /><br />I was really upset in the last visit to Germany as my credit card was blocked by the credit card provider. <br /><br />I was in a finance conference with other financial officers of our subsidiaries worldwide. It was held in an exclusive resort and spa in Bad-Herrenberg. When it came to hotel billing settlement time, the receptionist lady told me that my credit card was blocked for use. Immediately I was confused as I don't remember using the credit card a lot in the last weeks. In fact, I rarely use my credit card in Shanghai as I have only a German credit card, which I reserve it only for either emergency or holiday purposes to avoid loss in conversion rate and the overseas charges. I have of course tried to apply for a local chinese credit card but soon realized that it is almost impossible for a foreigner to have one. Don't ask me the reason why. After 15 months living in China, I have learned that some things should remain as a mystery.<br /><br />Anyway, I was lucky that I still have my debit card from my German bank so I can pay my hotel bill without embarassing myself by borrowing money from colleagues around the world (remember, it was an international Finance conference!).<br /><br />After the conference, I called my credit card provider just to learn that the credit card was blocked because the replacement card* was returned back with a remark of 'address unknown" from China Post! Being German as they are, they immediately blocked both current card and the replacement card for security purposes.<br /><br />For those of you who don't live in China. China is a new emerging country in the world economy. The country is at the moment the only country in the world that has surplus economy. The country enjoys long time benefit for being a Low Cost Country and has focused its main activities with export to US and European market. I bet you money that you'll find chinese made product in the shop next door. <br /><br />However, little that you know that the country has faced serious problem with foreign language ability. In the offices in Shanghai, you will find only the managerial level has acceptable foreign language skill. The staffs level have still difficulties communicating in English. Outside of the office, eg. taxi drivers or shop owners, speak either very little English or none at all. If they do speak English as they claim, they can only express the general word and not your specific requirements. Easy example is when you shop for clothes. They can only say that the clothes are made of good quality (read: expensive!) but you can't ask them if you have to handwash the material or dry clean, let alone to explain if it's made of cotton or polyester.<br /><br />In China Post, they have special department which their daily task is to translate every address in the envelope into Chinese characters so the post delivery man can understand. But imagine they will translate millions of international letters every day and perhaps one of them, like my replacement card, is sort of slip in the translation process and here I am stucked with the bad situation. So far, it is not my first experience with missing mails. I have never received christmas cards sent by my friends last year also and only God knows which other letters I have lost as well. <br /><br />I strongly suggest China Post to educate their staffs with minimum English or at least to read the normal Pinyin** to ensure safe arrival of our letters in China. Afterall, we, the foreigners, have copped up also with our other limitations in here.<br /><br /><br />Notes:<br />*apparently my card will be expired in October so they sent in advance the replacement card to my shanghai address (which is my billing address).<br /><br />** all international letters have chinese address written in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin">Pinyin</a> (romanized mandarin based on its chinese pronounciation)Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-18241253830202542752008-07-30T15:05:00.002+02:002008-07-30T15:08:12.186+02:00Extended!Today I signed the extension of my contract here until 30th June 2010. I do hope I won't regret it!Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-22181711215386957722008-07-06T08:23:00.004+02:002008-07-06T08:36:00.909+02:00Summer has arrived!We went for a walk around the French Concession yesterday and soon realized that it was a wrong decision! Summer has arrived in Shanghai and temperature raised up to 38 degree on day time and around 35 degree at 8 pm last night. It will be like this for the next 3 months so you might want to reconsider your travel to Shanghai!!<br /><br />We have a temperature measure in our apartment window and it records 40 degree at the moment. So definitely we will stay inside!! We are lucky that we have planned to travel to Germany this week where the temperature will be 10 degree lower! Yay!!!<br /><br />News from Shanghai Daily <a href="http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200807/20080705/article_365750.htm">here</a>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-70126139827235258092008-06-28T05:04:00.003+02:002008-06-28T06:01:50.944+02:00May Holiday Part 3 - on the way homeI guess I must post this before it is too long overdue! :-(
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<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halong_Bay">Ha Long</a> is located about 3 hours drive from Hanoi. The road and traffic is not so friendly (more small road than highways) but the scenaries along the road are beautiful.
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<br />Ha Long is very beautiful and natural and I would strongly recommend to take the 2 days/1 night boat trip. Many people are worry about the boat but it turned out to be a stable boat.
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<br />Our boat name was Santa Maria cruiser arranged by the hotel in Hanoi. The food served was very good but the room is just ok for a one night sleep. It's clean but not that sophisticated. Anyway you will not stay in the room the whole day. The boat has a nice sundeck where we hanged out most of the time. My dad was so connected to the nature that he always went to sundeck whenever he had the chances.
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<br />The travel agent has a program set for us. They will arrange when you have to have breakfast/lunch/dinner and they also took us to kayak trip. In the beginning I was not that sure about kayaking but ended up enjoying it alot. There is also a designated place where you can swim in the bay which is good after some hours kayaking. The next day we went to the caves to see many stone formations but for us it is not that interesting as this is very normal tourist places that you'll find in China.
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<br />The only downpoint was the night. They parked the boat in a quite bay together with many other junk boats. However 2 junk boats decided to make a karaoke contest night and that was just hillarious but yet terrible to hear that loud music and (many times!) not synchronize lyrics. I must strongly suggest that they forbid karaoke to better enjoy the nature. It's not very often we can sit under the sky and enjoying nothing but the sounds of wilderness!
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<br />But all in all, I still <a href="http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/nominees/asia/">vote for Halong bay to be one of the 7th Wonder of Natural World</a>!
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<br />I will also not post extra about <a href="http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/index.jsp">Hong Kong</a> and <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Macau">Macau</a>. It's heaven for shoppers and gamblers as everyone knows it, but just in case you want to see other side of Hong Kong then just take a train ride to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantau_Island">Lantau Island</a> (about 30 minutes train ride) and you can see the giant <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tian_Tan_Buddha">Tian Tan buddha</a>. It was a nice city break especially for the men and they can worry less about their credit card bill for a day! :-)
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<br />Enjoy the photos;
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<br /><embed src="http://apps.rockyou.com/rockyou.swf?instanceid=116239500" quality="high" wmode="transparent" width="426" height="320" flashvars="appWidth=325&appHeight=244" name="slideshowpreview" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"/><br><img src="http://apps.rockyou.com/dot.gif?w=SS&d=F4F4&c=3&id=&=.gif"><a target="_BLANK" href="http://www.rockyou.com?type=slideshow&refid=116239500"><img title="RockYou slideshow" src="http://apps.rockyou.com/images/logo-mini.gif" border="0"></a> <a target="_BLANK" href="http://www.rockyou.com/slideshow-create.php?source=cyo&refid=116239500">Create Your Own</a>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-76172876496933491282008-06-01T10:50:00.003+02:002008-06-01T11:39:09.271+02:00May Holiday Part 2 - Hanoi, VietnamAfter <a href="http://theworldwanders.blogspot.com/2008/05/may-holiday-part-1-angkor-cambodia.html#links">Siem Reap</a> we flew to Hanoi where the hotel’s driver had waited for us at the airport. We read traveler’s reviews prior to the trip and a lot of travelers have suggested us to use the available airport transfer from the hotel as there were many cases where the taxi driver took them to a different hotel (belong to the driver’s friend) and after an hour long drive from the airport to the city, you ended up staying at that hotel and paying more expensive hotel rate.
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<br />Our hotel is located directly in the old quarter which gave us easy access to the tourists’ areas. I met some other tourists and they all have heard about our hotel and the professional service that the hotel staffs provided to the tourists. If you plan to visit Hanoi, I will recommend you to stay at <a href="http://www.hanoielegancehotel.com/">Hanoi Elegance Hotel</a>. They have 3 locations and we stayed at their second hotel.
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<br />The downside of the hotel is because of the location in the old quarter, it can be very noisy at night. But the truth, the city is very noisy! There are thousands of motorbikes running around the city everyday and they sure know how to use the honk. I grew up in Jakarta where the traffic is also very bad. Currently I live also in Shanghai where it is also not the perfect example, but never have I heard louder traffic noise as it is in Hanoi. Sometimes I think they just make it as a competition on who is the loudest!
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<br />Hanoi is recommended for a day walking tour. Start your trip early to visit the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh">Ho Chi Minh mausoleum</a> (last admission is at 10 am) where you can see the embalmed body of the famous liberation hero of Viet Nam. From there you can continue walking through the presidential palace garden, the two ex-houses of Ho Chi Minh and finish in the one-pillar Pagoda.
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<br />As the story of Vietnam War fascinates us a lot, we decided to continue the trip to Hoa Lo Prison or also well known as the “<a href="http://www.vietnamwar.com/hanoihilton.htm">Hanoi Hilton</a>” where the Vietnamese kept the American war prisoners. Among them is the US Senator <a href="http://www.johnmccain.com/">John McCain</a> (currently running for President from Republican party). McCain was captured and held as Prisoner of War when his plane was shot down by the Vietnamese.
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<br />However, the history of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanoi_Hilton">Hoa Lo Prison</a> is actually due back to the time of French invasion in Viet Nam. The prison was called as Maison Centrale and used to prison and torture many of Vietnamese political leaders. I went to the prison and I can still see the French <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine">Guillotine</a> where they used to behead the Vietnamese prisoners.
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<br />After spending some time in the Prison, we headed back to our hotel and on the way we made a stop at the Cathedral and the beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of Hanoi. Then we walked around the old quarter, did some souvenirs shopping and just relax for the night as we had to wake up early to catch the bus to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha_Long_Bay">Ha Long Bay</a>.
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<br />Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-74995827897218714922008-05-19T12:05:00.007+02:002008-05-19T15:50:27.371+02:00National Mourning for Sichuan Earthquake Victims<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWZJM4e0vtER8AZp0jtYSlTQJISBCxZUBog1z2pENR9VgJ7245hqGSnqnBXS7QZBEQYGz93PSEKe9p1MSQ3LqlZ4LzD9vyurUaYTL_MpyGRI74c-8ccGzby2q9S9s95r2WI01/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202030342834943938" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWZJM4e0vtER8AZp0jtYSlTQJISBCxZUBog1z2pENR9VgJ7245hqGSnqnBXS7QZBEQYGz93PSEKe9p1MSQ3LqlZ4LzD9vyurUaYTL_MpyGRI74c-8ccGzby2q9S9s95r2WI01/s200/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a>China has called for 3 days of national mourning and suspended the Beijing Olympic torch relay to remember the victims of Sichuan earthquake, the country worst earthquake after 1976. National flag is flown at half pole and <a href="http://shanghaiist.com/2008/05/19/online_implicat.php">all entertainment activities (bars, karaoke, movie theaters, internet sites and tv broadcasts!!!) are closed for 3 days</a>.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Especially for today, all activities (including all public transport, factories, car drivers, stock markets, etc) were stopped for 3 minutes silent at exactly 2.28 pm local time as a tribute to the victims. Car and ship horns, as well as air raid sirens will be sounded in remembrance of Sichuan earthquake victims.</div><br /><div></div><div>Imagine..1.3 billion people have stopped their activities at the same time for 3 minutes!!</div><div></div><br /><div></div><div>Video can be seen here:</div><br /><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyP2Fp1OcaH1FKFKvTvcs_OghkunpYEKIvc45kZwd5SV2Oc2XOMHG7vox7hkweVGLKgs9Q_cs3LIcw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p>Photo is taken from <a href="http://www.shanghaidaily.com/">Shanghai Daily</a>, video from <a href="http://www.chinadaily.cn/">China Daily</a>.</p>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-63090327999894481102008-05-18T09:16:00.006+02:002008-05-22T01:30:32.918+02:00May Holiday Part 1 – Angkor, Cambodia<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiewGLWXJWr7oKtTI8pYaUMAXcfCXpkvVWQXANpZ5LxLLv-bFyYHG2e0e6ufwjKDj1gax9BDRRtnqZ19clex17bGuV1r5kNFpi88fOas2UhUvF97QyQpCOSGhqXki0LOiPY40F/s1600-h/IMG_5369.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201629338918385586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiewGLWXJWr7oKtTI8pYaUMAXcfCXpkvVWQXANpZ5LxLLv-bFyYHG2e0e6ufwjKDj1gax9BDRRtnqZ19clex17bGuV1r5kNFpi88fOas2UhUvF97QyQpCOSGhqXki0LOiPY40F/s200/IMG_5369.JPG" border="0" /></a> Now that we are living in Asia, we’ve promised ourselves to intensify our knowledge of Asia, especially <a href="http://www.travelindochina.com/">Indochina</a>. Being an Indonesian (and I haven't travelled much in Indonesia either!!), I am quite ashamed of myself as I have been to a lot of places in Europe and US and only to some cities in Asia.
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<br />Before I live in Shanghai, I have only visited some major cities in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an and Guilin), Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, which everyone who have been to the last 2 cities can confirm that they are not really typical Asian city.
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<br />Therefore, we’ve made our first step to Asia by travelling to Hong Kong, Macau, Siem Reap, Hanoi and Ha Long bay last May holiday. It seems to be a lot of cities to be done in 10 days but we are not so much into shopping so we can skip the trip to the mall in HK.
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<br />My parents joined us this time as they were visiting me for the surgery. I will only post about Siem Reap this time and continue with others in the next posts.
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<br />First thing we’ve learnt is that travelling in Asia is more complicated with the inter-city connection. Not all places are wel connected by train service and cheap flights are not always available. However I found a very helpful and reliable internet site, <a href="http://www.tourismcambodia.com/">Tourism Cambodia</a>, which helps for tickets and hotel bookings and they give detail information about Cambodia. Their price is also cheaper compare to other sites too.
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<br />I believe almost all nationalities require visa to visit Cambodia. However they provided an <a href="http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/index.php?version=eng">e-visa </a>service which makes it easier. If you prefer not to use their e-visa service, just make sure you have your passport photograph with you when you enter the country.
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<br />Also, you don’t have to bother exchanging your money to local currency in Cambodia. Most people trades in USD and they give change in USD as well. You can use it to pay for tuk tuk, bars, restaurants, hotels and water everywhere.
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<br /><a href="http://www.siemreap-town.gov.kh/">Siem Reap</a> is the city you have to go if you want to visit <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor">Angkor</a>. One hint to visit Angkor, it is a huge complex consisting of about 100 temples. It will take you between 3 days to a week to visit all the temples so depending on your crave for archeology, make sure you’ll plan your visit wisely as the price of the entrance ticket is cheaper if you buy for more days. The last time we only spend only a day in Angkor and paid for 25 USD each. The best way to explore the temples is by bicycles or by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuk-tuk">tuk tuk</a>, a motorcycle powered cart. The area is very peace and serene but be prepared for the hot and humid weather also. Take your time to explore the temples and make sure you have your water and camera handy at all time!
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<br />In Angkor we only had the chance to visit the 3 main and must see temples. Those are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat">Angkor Wat</a> itself, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayon">Bayon temple</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta_Prohm">Ta Prohm</a>. The last one is really popular as the temple has been almost outgrown by the trees. You’ll find everywhere trees growing on top of the temple building. Really amazing!
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<br />And after you’ve finished exploring the temples, don’t forget to stop at the night market in town or just spoiling yourself with the famous Cambodian massage!
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<br /><embed src="http://apps.rockyou.com/rockyou.swf?instanceid=113039947" quality="high" wmode="transparent" width="426" height="320" flashvars="appWidth=325&appHeight=244" name="slideshowpreview" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"/><br><img src="http://apps.rockyou.com/dot.gif?w=SS&d=CB8C&c=3&id=&=.gif"><a target="_BLANK" href="http://www.rockyou.com?type=slideshow&refid=113039947"><img title="RockYou slideshow" src="http://apps.rockyou.com/images/logo-mini.gif" border="0"></a> <a target="_BLANK" href="http://www.rockyou.com/slideshow-create.php?source=cyo&refid=113039947">Create Your Own</a>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-44715309745168851372008-05-15T08:23:00.004+02:002008-05-16T13:51:30.144+02:00Sichuan Earthquake: Aftermath<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_p60l7aA4I6GhEaWVjKI_FJKoAZWLIPZHJZuarIw7KJw-LApkBqcoMk0K2ZJ2VmobHqthd-fvPNvb7Qoe-fClAKIZ-0githyphenhyphenJcyK1NeUpBRvlqeE-tk0Izc2QS5c6MUtY1kM9/s1600-h/Picture1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200488647144175522" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_p60l7aA4I6GhEaWVjKI_FJKoAZWLIPZHJZuarIw7KJw-LApkBqcoMk0K2ZJ2VmobHqthd-fvPNvb7Qoe-fClAKIZ-0githyphenhyphenJcyK1NeUpBRvlqeE-tk0Izc2QS5c6MUtY1kM9/s200/Picture1.jpg" border="0" /></a> China was hit badly by <a href="http://mceer.buffalo.edu/infoservice/reference_services/china-earthquake-sichuan.asp">earthquake in Sichuan province</a> last Monday. The center of earthquake in Wenchuan county was recorded at 7.8 richter scale and the death toll as per Wednesday 2 pm was above 14.000 people and rising.<br /><br />Aftershock of the earthquake was also felt in Shanghai, Beijing and Bangkok (Thailand).<br /><br />I was actually having a teleconference meeting in 30th floor when it happened and for a moment I thought that I was just struck with a terrible dizziness as I felt the room shook and swayed. But then I realized that the overhead projector hanging in the ceiling of the meeting room and the window curtain were swaying too. I scream for earthquake and told everyone to immediately rush out of the room and run towards the emergency stairs. It was a panic condition at that time and by the time we got to the street, we’ve found that a lot of people are exiting from the next door building.<br /><br />Thankfully, I have to say this for my case, that the center of the earthquake is about 1500 km away from Shanghai. Unfortunately it is not the same situation for those people living in Wenchuan county. Everyday I received forwarded emails showing aftermath pictures. Today the company called for a meeting to request for donation from the employees. For every cent that the employees donate, the company will donate double. I think it is a very good gesture.<br /><br />If you want to donate to the earthquake in Sichuan, please go to this <a href="http://english.sina.com/china/1/2008/0514/158652.html">link</a>.<br /><div></div>Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700652.post-86035410567224601782008-04-30T15:06:00.006+02:002008-04-30T16:37:17.098+02:00Countdown Beijing - 100 days to goI don't really follow the Beijing Olympic progress too much and so far I haven't sign up for any ticket either. I heard that it is not easy to get tickets as the government uses the same lucky draw system like the one used for World Cup in Germany in 2006. This simple means that you can register <a href="http://www.tickets.beijing2008.cn/">here</a> to buy tickets to the games of your selection, but your registration will go through a lucky draw process and if your name comes out, then you can go ahead and purchase the ticket. Otherwise, you'll have to re-register again (if you opt to do so).<br /><br />Despite of the developing situation of Tibet, the chinese government has made a lot of efforts to make the olympic a successful event.<br /><br />1. If you go to Beijing, you will find a number of new buildings currently undergo final finishing stage. The new terminal 3 in Beijing airport, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Olympic_Stadium">Olympic bird nest stadium</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_National_Aquatics_Centre">the national aquatic building</a> for swimming olympic, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Centre_for_the_Performing_Arts_(China)">China National Grand Theater</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCTV_Headquarters">CCTV Tower</a> are among them.<br /><br />2. Starting from 1st of May, the chinese government will ban smoking in public places in Beijing. Smoking are only allowed in designated area, the same regulation like currently implemented in Germany. The regulation is in line with the effort to make a smoke-free and healthy olympic. There is rumour that the new regulation will also be implemented in other major cities in China, such as Shanghai and Qingdao but the government has not yet released official statement about it.<br /><br />3. New visa regulation is also currently in place. Make sure that you have give enough time ahead when you are applying chinese visa. Also prepare very well your travel documentations and supporting documents as the embassy has imposed a strict rule of selections. I have also heard that the price for chinese visa is increased to about 4 times the price before (at least like that in Indonesia) and that the embassy only grant tourist visa with maximum 1 month stay.<br /><br />Some of my colleagues from the headquater have also difficulties to obtain chinese visa at the moment. One colleague is rejected for visa and another one receives only 3 days visa to China.<br />For foreigners who are currently residing in China, please make sure that you give enough time when you have to extend your work/residence permit. I have heard many stories that some people receives no extension of their residence permit and therefore has to leave the country. I suppose the process will become more difficult as it gets closer to the olympic games.<br /><br />4. New travel safety regulation has been implemented since beginning of April. No liquid is allowed in carry on luggage and each passenger is limited to only 1 carry on. There is no tolerance given in the liquid regulation, it means simply no liquid allowed. It doesn't matter if you bring liquid in container smaller than 100 ml or that you purchase the liquid from a duty free item in another airport and the plastic bag is still sealed. My friend is just came back from Vienna where he purchased a bottle of Whisky in the Vienna airport duty free. Unfortunately he has to transfer in Beijing to catch the local flight to Shanghai and the officer in Beijing does not allow him to bring his Vienna-approved-and-sealed-duty-free-Whisky to Shanghai and he has to dispose it in Beijing airport! Seriously..no tolerance!<br /><br />5. More and more blocked internet sites are now available for browsing in China. I have been able to browse <a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/">wikipedia</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/">youtube</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">flickr</a> photos anytime I want to!<br /><br />6. At last, currency. As many other Asian countries, China is also influenced by the weakening USD and strenghtening EURO. This of course will benefit the European tourists but definetely a set back for the American. You can monitor the official exchange rate development <a href="http://www.boc.cn/en/static/">here</a>. As you might already know, China practises a controlled foreign exchange market. The rate you find in Bank of China will be the same rate you'll find in any other banks or money changers.<br /><br />Prices of foods have also increased significantly in the last quarter as China reported for the first time in history a <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-03/11/content_6526470.htm">CPI increase of 8.7% in February</a>. This record high are triggered from various factors, eg. the strenghtening EURO, increase of fuel price in the world and the extreme climate change in south and central China in this winter. China Daily reports <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-04/24/content_6639690.htm">here</a>.Evelinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235603108715586916noreply@blogger.com2