Official tourism promotion video for Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture, which showcases the state’s natural beauty, food culture, city lifestyle and traditional festivals.
Asia travel
Cyclo tour in Old Quarter, Hanoi, Vietnam
The Old Quarter, as its name indicates, is one of the oldest areas in Hanoi. The place is famous for its streets that are packed with century-old shop-houses specialising in a particular trade… such as shoes, bags, toys, medicines, metals and bamboos etc. The speciality of each street is reflected by the road names.
The Old Quarter is also called the 36 Streets… probably the number of streets when the French started to rebuild the area in the 19th century.
These days there are probably more than 40 streets in Old Quarter; most of the streets are quite short and could be easily navigated on foot… but I was a bit lazy to walk as the summer heat was killing me. I decided to try the cyclo ride instead, which cost me about US$4 for an hour of touring around the area…
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The Amazing Race Asia – Season 3
The third season of The Amazing Race Asia (TARA) is set to premier on September 11 on AXN-Asia. The franchisee of the popular US reality TV show is growing in popularity across Asia since making its debut in late 2006 and is back for good.
Hardcore Amazing Race fans might not like the Asian version for the overusing of celebrity participants to boost ratings, as some fans felt that reality shows are meant for ‘real’ people and not the celebs.
Regardless, the strategy seems to work well for AXN. The likes of Thai actress Paula Taylor and Pinoy model Marc Nelson have gained vast interest for the previous race… thus it’s not surprising to see that TARA-3 is loaded with celebs’ participants yet again.
Among the notable celebrities in Season 3 are Malaysian TV hostess Bernie Chan, actress Ida Nerina, Filipino model Geoff Rodriguez and Thai beauty queens Natalie Glebova & Pailin Rungratanasunthorn etc.
The fun part about The Amazing Race Asia is the variety of participants from different nations. The 2008 teams are from Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea (debut) and Thailand; whereas the Indonesian, Japanese and Australian teams are missing in action this season. Allan Wu again the host.
St Joseph’s Cathedral, Hanoi, Vietnam
Ngoc Son Temple, Hanoi, Vietnam
Ngoc Son Temple (Đền Ngọc Sơn), or Temple of the Jade Mound, is located on a small islet at Hoan Kiem Lake in the City of Hanoi. The temple was founded in the 14th century but most of its current structures were built in the 18th century.
Ngoc Son Temple was built to commemorate a few Chinese and Vietnamese legends, including famous Vietnamese General Trần Hưng Đạo who twice led the Vietnamese troops to fence off the mighty Yuan invaders in the 13th century.
Sharing a few photos of the temple below, taken during my Hanoi trip in July 2008. It’s a small temple, but pretty nostalgic with a serene environment…
Ngoc Son Temple as viewed from across the Hoan Kiem Lake
Central Asia travel photos
Sharing some lovely photos by Flickr user Irene2005 from her Central Asia trip in mid 2008. Pics mainly from Kazakhstan’s Almaty and Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek…
Kok-Tube Mountain, Almaty, Kazakhstan
