Highlight from my Indonesian trip, the Semeru-Bromo-Batok volcanoes, the most unearthly place that I’ve ever been. Had to wake up early in the morning and catch a jeep ride to a mountain-top viewpoint at Mt Penanjakan for the sunrise and breathtaking scenery of the volcanoes and caldera…
Will be travelling to Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park – famous for its volcanoes – in Indonesia next week. Still a few days to go, but I have a few personal matters to settle before the trip, thus the blog will not be updated until I’m back next weekend (Nov 14). See you again then.
So, what’s the millionaire’s trip about? Apparently Indonesian Rupiah is one of the least valued currency units; got myself 1.9 million Rupiahs (~US$200) the other day, which literally makes me a millionaire just like many others lol.
In case you are wondering, the world’s least valued currency is the Vietnamese đồng, which took over the #1 spot in April 2009 from the suspended Zimbabwean dollar, which had a 100 trillion dollar banknote (~US$33) at some point.
The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas is the latest project from my online friend Quachee. It’s an online cookshow showcasing the Peranakan (or Nyonya) cuisine.
Peranakan refers to descendants of foreign immigrants (primarily Chinese) who assimilated with the Nusantara community during the 15th & 16th century and created a unique culture of their own. Chinese-Peranakan is often referred to as Baba (male) and Nyonya (female).
The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas revolves around a Peranakan grandmother teaching her grandchildren and friends on the art of cooking Nyonya dishes. Below are the first four (of eight) webisodes…
Singapore’s Iggy’s is Asia’s best restaurant according to the Miele Guide which made its grand debut last week. The guide is claimed to be Asia’s first truly independent regional restaurant guide.
The Miele Guide 2008/2009 edition evaluates restaurants in 16 Asian countries… Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The top 20 restaurants according to the Miele Guide 2008/2009…
The 6th annual MTV Asia Awards was held last Saturday (Aug 2) at Arena of Stars in Genting, Malaysia. I watched the delayed telecast at home… a decent show.
Don’t bother too much about the results though; their awards have always been dubious and it seems like the ‘tradition’ will continue to be preserved…
Favourite Music Artist Awards from Asia
Favourite Artist of Mainland China – Li Yu Chun
Favourite Artist of Hong Kong – Leo Ku
Favourite Artist of Indonesia – Yovie & Nuno
Favourite Artist of Korea – Super Junior
Favourite Artist of Malaysia – Nicholas Teo
Favourite Artist of Philippines – Chicosci
Favourite Artist of Singapore – Stefanie Sun
Favourite Artist of Taiwan – Show Lo
Favourite Artist of Thailand – TOR+ Saksit
International Music Awards
Favourite International Artist of Asia – Linkin Park
Best Hook-up – Timbaland feat. OneRepublic – “Apologize”
The Innovation Award – Radiohead
Breakthrough Artist – Leona Lewis
Video Star – 30 Seconds to Mars – “A Beautiful Lie”
Bring Da House Down – Muse – Muse Asia Tour (Jan 2007)
edc Style Award – Panic at the Disco
Knockout Award – The Click Five
Inspiration Award – Karen Mok
Watch some of the live performances on Mtv Asia.
World Drums Festival 2008 is running from July 26 to August 2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event was first held in December 2007, and it seems like the Malaysian organisers are keen to make it an annual show.
World Drums Festival showcases traditional (and fusion) drum-shows from around the world. The 2008 series features performers from Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Venezuela. Not really covering every part of the world yet, but it’s an international show nonetheless, and a pretty good one.
Went to a road show at Berjaya Times Square on Wednesday with KC and took some pics; photo quality rather poor due to dim lighting and my limited photography skills…
Malaysian authorities have cancelled the concert-permit for Indonesian singer Inul Daratista following protests from some Islamic groups.
The concert was scheduled to be held last weekend in Kuala Lumpur before being cancelled at the very last minute. Some Islamic groups were protesting against the concert… the major reason was that the concert was ‘erotic’. Obviously they won.
Inul is controversial with her suggestive dance moves which she called it the ‘Goyang Inul’ or ‘Gerak Gerudi’ (literally ‘drilling moves’). I’ll leave it for your own interpretation of how erotic she is with the below video…
Some trace-back… Pussycat Dolls were fined around USD3000 when they held their concert in Malaysia last time, Gwen Stefani was told to cover up, Linkin Park were told not to ‘shout’… and Beyonce was smart enough to cancel her concert before the authorities could shut her door.
If this trend keeps going, lots of the foreign artists might not consider having a concert in Malaysia and favour neighbouring Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia instead.
Hong Kong celebrity couple Tony Leung and Carina Lau is getting married after 19-years into relationship. The couple hinted about their marriage a few months ago, but never released much details to the public… leaving plenty of rooms for speculations.
The hottest rumour is that they would tie their knots on July 21 in a private wedding ceremony; while another suggests that the wedding would be held in October with truck-load of celebrity guests.
Wedding in Bhutan?
While July 21 seems almost certain as wedding date, the venue for the wedding is still a relative mystery… rumours shifted from Bali to a private island in Thailand, and now to Bhutan.
It’s reported that one of the invited guests, veteran entertainer Eric Tsang, has confirmed the location to be in Bhutan… so, it could very well be a perfect guess this time.
Both Tony and Carina are devoted Buddhist… and Bhutan, being a Buddhist country, seems like a logical choice for their wedding venue.
Besides, Bhutan is famous for its strict regulations on foreign visitors, which sounds like another good reasons to have celebrity weddings there… Tony and Carina won’t need to worry much about paparazzi, as unwanted media would find it difficult to be granted entries during that period.
Regardless of dates and venue, it’s good to see them getting married finally. Congrats.
