Farewell To Rizal Park, Wham! Burger And Manila!

This is my last post on my Manila trip in January 2011. Can you believe I am actually feeling sad about it being the last post? I guess I have enjoyed blogging about the trip as much as I have enjoyed visiting Manila!

On my second last day (5th day) in Manila, I met up with Ishmael Ahab, my good blogger friend who stays there. He brought me to a buffet lunch at Kamayan which I blogged about HERE.

After lunch, we went to Rizal Park nearby.



This is the park where José Rizal was executed and became a martyr and national hero of Philippines. You can read more about Rizal Park HERE.

I took a picture of the Rizal Monument, where the statue of José Rizal and his remains were located. You might be interested to read about my visit to the Rizal Shrine in Fort Santiago HERE if you haven't already.



It was a nice pleasant Sunday afternoon and I remember telling Ishmael that the weather was perfect for strolling around the park.

There is a Chinese Garden here but we did not enter. I guess I was more excited about going to eat balut at Quiapo! Haha!



The park also has a man-made lake with a relief map of the Philippine archipelago in the middle. Unfortunately, I could not see the map very clearly from this spot.



We also crossed the Roxas Boulevard road to visit the Quirino Grandstand opposite Rizal Park. Ishmael told me that was the place where the famous August 2010 hostage incident that was beamed live worldwide took place - where Hong Kong tourists were taken hostage by a former national police officer.



As I was crossing the road, I noticed this funny road name. Ped Xing? It did not sound Filipino or Spanish but the word Xing sure sounded somewhat Chinese to me. What kind of name was that?



To my amusement, Ishmael explained that Ped Xing is short for Pedestrian Crossing!! The alphabet X stands for cross!! Huh? Like this also can?!



We actually did not walk all the way to the Quirino Grandstand as there was really nothing much to see. I however, just took a picture of that clock (above).

After that, we proceeded to the LRT station to go to Quiapo for the balut and kwek kwek which I have blogged in the previous post.

Now if you think balut and kwek kwek were the end of my Filipino foodie adventure, you are wrong. Ishmael brought me to SM North Edsa Mall to eat Wham! Burger next, which he said was even better than Jollibee burgers!!



The above is the front entrance of the Wham! Burger restaurant. As we were both quite full after the buffet and the balut and kwek kwek, we decided to just buy one burger and share.



Look at the beef patty! Although looking slightly charred, I learnt that 100% real beef was used! In addition, they used fresh vegetables too.



Ishmael cut the burger into half while I took the photo.



The burger was juicy and delicious! If I was not so full, I would have eaten the whole burger myself!



After that, it was time for me and Ishmael to bid each other farewell. It had been a fun outing with him and I hope I will get to see him again if I visit Manila in future!

The next day, it was time to go home. Truth be told, my 6 days, 5 nights in Manila seemed more like just 5 days to me. This was because on the 6th day, I had to wake up at 5am to check out of the hotel and take a taxi to the Pasay Bus Station, where I had to board the 6am bus to Clark International Airport.

You see, there was only one AirAsia flight back to Malaysia and it was at 11am. Buses to the airport were scheduled to depart at either 6am or 10am. Since the bus would take about 1.5 hours to reach the airport, I had no choice but to take the 6am bus. What a waste of my last day!!

In future, if I ever go to Manila, I would not fly with AirAsia unless they land at the Manila International Airport!

With this, I am wrapping up my Manila travel posts. Farewell, Manila!!

For those of you who have missed some of my Manila posts, here is the complete list.

1. From Clark International Airport To Manila
2. Lotus Garden Hotel In Manila
3. Shopping At Robinsons Place Manila
4. My Very First Jollibee Burger
5. The Manila Cathedral Of Intramuros
6. Exploring Fort Santiago In Intramuros (Part 1)
7. Exploring Fort Santiago In Intramuros (Part 2)
8. My Visit To Casa Manila
9. Baluarte De San Diego In Intramuros
10. Riding A Cannon At Baluarte De San Andres
11. Eating Dumplings At Dong Bei Dumpling
12. Exploring Binondo And Shopping At Eng Bee Tin
13. My Visit To Manila Central Post Office And Red Ribbon
14. The Manila American Cemetery And Memorial
15. Shopping At Greenbelt And Glorietta In Ayala Center
16. The Cheapest Way To Visit Taal Volcano
17. Riding A Jeepney To Picnic Grove
18. My Filipino Buffet Lunch At Kamayan
19. Eating Balut And Kwek Kwek In Quiapo

Coming Soon : My Very First Trip To Cambodia!

FIRST COMMENTER

Walking The Streets Of Bangkok

I enjoyed walking around in Bangkok.

During my Bangkok trip late last year, my friend and I spent most of our time walking around and shopping.

There was this statue located opposite Dusit Thani Hotel where we stayed. It was actually the statue of King Rama VI, who reigned as King of Siam from 1910 to 1925.



The statue stood at the southwestern entrance to Bangkok's famous Lumpini Park at the junction of Rajdamri Road and Rama IV Road. It was a pity we did not have the time to visit the park as it has a man-made lake where visitors can rent boats. It is also a good place to jog and cycle and it contains a public library, an indoor stadium and even a dance hall!

Well, I will make sure I visit Lumpini Park the next time I go Bangkok! Oh! I even found a map of Lumpini Park HERE.

By the way, I saw these below the King Rama VI statue.



Although walking is good, I actually enjoy traveling around in tuk tuks! Here I took a photo while traveling in one!



Tuk tuk is one of the fastest ways to travel in congested Bangkok roads. The drivers simply know how to weave in and out of the traffic at breakneck speed! Sit in a tuk tuk if you want to get somewhere fast!

There are lots of temples to visit in Bangkok, but this time I chose just one, if you don't count The Erawan Shrine. But I forgot the name of this temple!



I was told that it was not good to take pictures of humans with these holy statues together inside a temple. However, taking pictures of people with Buddha statues outside the temple is OK.

This is the front view of the temple. It is not a very grand looking temple, I must say.



Although I stayed at Dusit Thani Hotel, that did not stop me from visiting other hotels along the Rajdamri Road.

This is the Grand Hyatt Erawan. Yes, it's the one just next to the famous Four Faced Buddha or the Erawan Shrine which I blogged about previously.



The lobby looks rather grand, doesn't it?

I took this photo of the Rajdamri road when I exited from the Grand Hyatt Erawan. Notice the Skytrain line that runs parellel with the road.



The next hotel my friend and I stopped by was the Four Seasons Hotel.



I like the elephant!

The hotel had a nice pond outside the main entrance.



Inside, I was awed by the pictures on the wall!



I think it was beautiful but it would be quite dangerous if you lose yourself looking at the picture while climbing up the stairs!



Love this tall tree at the courtyard. (not sure if I can call it a courtyard)



From the first floor, looking down at the lobby below.



Thai people seems to like elephants a lot! I saw an elephant while walking along Silom Road. Of course, it was not a real elephant.



But then again, I heard that they were so crazy about the pandas at Chiang Mai Zoo that an elephant was painted black and white just like a panda to get some attention! See the picture of that "panda" elephant HERE!

Ooh! I love it that Ronald McDonald is doing the wai (ไหว้) here!



Did you know that there is a Madame Tussauds wax museum in Bangkok? Yes, there is and it is located on the 6th floor of Siam Discovery. It was in fact, the 10th Madame Tussauds to open worldwide on December 4th 2010.

Unfortunately, my friend and I were in Bangkok in November and the wax museum was not ready yet! So we were just contented to read about the launch from a counter selling the tickets.



Looks like there will be wax figures of Michael Jackson and Brad Pitt from the brochures.

If you plan to go Bangkok, don't miss Madame Tussauds Bangkok! More info HERE.

I came across Mr. Bean Coffee & Internet shop at MBK Mall and took a photo of it. It was a shop selling coffee, sandwiches and cakes but I did not eat there. Well, don't worry. I will visit Mr Bean the next time I go Bangkok!



Another shop or restaurant I must visit next time I go Bangkok is Yum Saap! I saw the advertisement while boarding the SkyTrain. This restaurant franchise is famous for serving traditional Thai food at cheap prices!



One night after shopping at MBK Mall, my friend and I were walking to the SkyTrain station when we saw a busy night market right next to the station! We did not buy anything though.



After shopping the whole day, we just wanted to go back to our hotel to rest. It was fun walking around in Bangkok.



I am falling in love with Bangkok all over again!

FIRST COMMENTER

My Top 5 Recreational Parks

Since returning from my holidays in Cambodia and Redang, I discovered to my horror that I have put on some weight.

This is rather unusual because every time I go on a long holiday, I normally lose weight!

Oh well, maybe I just had too much to eat this time around. Haha!

It did not help that during this Raya holiday weekend, I did nothing but eat!

Anyway, I have got to do some jogging again this week to start shedding those unwanted fats! Walking on a treadmill in the gym is just too plain boring for me. I prefer jogging in the outdoors and be close to nature, especially in the parks!

So today I would like to share with you my Top 5 favourite parks in the Klang Valley.

1. FRIM


Photo courtesy of Window To The Soul

Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) located 16km northwest of Kuala Lumpur in Kepong is one of my favourite jogging spots. It offers 1,528 hectares of forest ecosystems, gardens, arboreta and wetlands with various trails (both tarmac and nature) scattered all around the Institute. It also has a 200m long canopy walkway that is built 30m above ground.

2. Taman Lembah Kiara



Taman Lembah Kiara Recreational Park is located in Taman Tun Dr Ismail in KL. It is a popular recreational spot for nearby residents. There is a beautiful man-made lake complete with fountains, a suspension bridge and a well-paved jogging path that absorbs the impact from running or jogging. One interesting thing you can see here is monkeys that roam freely all around the park.

3. Lake Gardens



Also known as Taman Tasik Perdana, the Lake Gardens is located off Jalan Parlimen in KL. As the more popular green lung in KL, it encompasses about 92 hectares of greenery, which also include a lake, bird park, butterfly park, deer park, orchid and hibiscus garden, Tun Abdul Razak Memorial and National Planetarium.

4. Taman Pertanian Bukit Cahaya


Image courtesy of wikimapia.org

Malaysia's first Agriculture Park is located in Shah Alam, Selangor. The area, which is also known as Bukit Cherakah, covering 1,295 hectares of virgin jungle is the world's first agro-forestry park. There is a jogging track around a lake and a four-season house which showcases the four different seasons.

5. Desa Park City



Although not a park but a gated housing estate, Desa Park City is not only one of the best spots in KL to live, but also a great place to jog around its large beautiful lake! Besides jogging, you can also fly kites and go fishing. Or do some shopping at its Waterfront shops.

There you have it, my top 5 recreational parks in the Klang Valley. Do you like jogging in the parks and which is your favourite park?

FIRST COMMENTER

A Visit To Central Square in Guilin

There are a lot of huge parks and squares in Guilin, China. One of the largest squares is Central Square (中心广场) which is located not very far from the Backstreet Youth Hostel where I and my friends stayed.

After our visit to the Elephant Trunk Hill, we rested a while in the hostel before going out for dinner. Since this was our first day in Guilin, we decided to take a walk around before dinner.

And so we came upon this Central Square.



It was huge!



And not over crowded with people like certain places in the city!



There were entertainment for kids!



And cars of various designs for kids to drive too!



If not mistaken, the pyramid glass structure served as an entrance to the underground plaza. We did not go there.



Huge advertisement billboards and screens could be seen at one side of the square.



To get to Central Square, you can take bus No. 1 or No.22 to the Central Square bus stop and just walk for a few minutes to reach it.



After having enough of photo taking, we left Central Square in search of a good place to have our first dinner in Guilin.



I ended up eating horse meat which I will blog about next, so stay tuned!

FIRST COMMENTER