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Mt Semeru-Bromo-Batok from Penanjakan viewpoint from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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.

Going on a millionaire’s trip from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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…

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The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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…

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Miele Guide 2008/2009 – Asia’s top 20 restaurants from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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.

MTV Asia Awards 2008 – winners from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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…

World Drums Festival (Festival Gendang Sedunia) 2008 at Berjaya Time Square

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Kuala Lumpur World Drums Festival 2008 from YeinJee's Asian Journal

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.

Malaysia banned butty-shaking Indonesian singer from YeinJee's Asian Journal

An old photo of Carina and Tony

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.

Tony Leung and Carina Lau to wed in Bhutan? from YeinJee's Asian Journal

MAA, one of the most popular pop events in Asia, is making its debut in Malaysia. The show will be held at the Arena of Stars in Genting City of Entertainment, Malaysia, on August 2, and will be hosted by Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars.

There will be nine regional favourite artist awards and seven international awards to be presented. Among the nominees are Avril Lavigne & Justin Timberlake & Leona Lewis (International), Chris Li (China), Andy Lau & Eason Chan & Joey Yung (Hong Kong), Big Bang & Suju & Wondergirls (Korea), Nic Teo & Siti Nurhaliza (Malaysia), Stefanie Sun (Singapore), Jolin Tsai & S.H.E (Taiwan) etc.

As far as I know, none of the celebrities have confirmed their attendance yet, but judging from the past experiences, most of the winners were pretty supportive of the show… it’s one of the largest of its kind in Asia after all.

It’s not easy to get a ticket though; it’s something that money can’t buy. The fans have to get the tickets via contests by voting for their favourite artists [details]… the fans need some luck obviously.

Karen Mok is going to co-host the event with Jared Leto. Electrico, Jabbawockeez, Leona Lewis, Li Yuchun, OneRepublic, Panic at the Disco, Pussycat Dolls, Super Junior, Stefanie Sun, The Click Five and The Script have confirmed their appearances.

Update – the winners.

2008 MTV Asia Awards coming to Malaysia from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Among the singers are Michael Wong, Daniel Lee, David Arumugam, Ning Baizura, Gary Chaw, Dayang Nurfaizah, Maya Karin, Penny Tai, Faizal Tahir and Jaclyn Victor etc.

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Various artist, Olimpik di Beijing MV from YeinJee's Asian Journal

[video via bunakenchacha@Youtube]

Rare coelacanth fish caught in Sulawesi, Indonesia from YeinJee's Asian Journal