With a Sunday rainy day to chill out, I remember completely unplugging last weekend in Lombok at Qunci Villas. Lombok is an island in Indonesia next to Bali, and this charming venue is still relatively low-key compared to its ultra-popular neighboring tourist destination. I like to describe Lombok as “Bali from maybe a decade or so ago.”
So with few crowds and no kids around, it was certainly the antidote to civilization (Wasn’t that the catch phrase to some other resort?) as Li Lin and I totally chillaxed to the max in our one bedroom villa with personal pool.
With uncongested streets and lush green all around us, it was just too easy to spend a lot of time doing nothing and not worry about the next task on hand…
The food was good and inexpensive, and I had a good time exploring the nearby beaches and just lappin up the stunning sunsets.
Overall, Qunci Villas was a nice place to stay. However, they really gotta do something about their room service cuz no food is served after 11 Pm when the restaurant closes so be prepared to bring some snacks or go on a personal fast until breakfast begins at 7 AM the following morning!
Still, just the mere fact that we could totally relax (and not worry about the kids for once) was enough to slap some smiles on our mugs!
As much as I had with family and friends in Guilin, it was good to pick up a coupla more shots before returning to Singapore. No matter where you look, there’s stunning terrain in every direction.
Even crossing a bridge in the downtown area offered a pretty decent view of the topography…
Of course, the kids can only take so much of this “boring” sightseeing so it was time for them to huddle up and decide what to do…
In a heartbeat, the little people unanimously decided that “Being Cool” was the way to go so we cruised to the Gui Hu Lake…
..which felt like the entire city showed up for a dip. And even though I couldn’t squeeze myself into a donut-shaped flotation device…
…I still had a blast playing Tag! with the little people.
One last thing…if you do decide in the future that you would like to visit Guilin, then please DO NOT use this person and his travel agency:
Louie Yi
Expedition Specialist (I love this “title” he gives himself too!) Lotus Travel, Inc. 5990 158th Ave., SE, | Bellevue, WA 98006 | (: 425-223 4641 | 7: 425-484 2133 | *: louie@lotustours.net | www.lotustours.net
This greedy and unscrupulous individual was horrible to deal with and WILL rip you off. I don’t want to get into the details, but you know how they say, “You Get What You Pay For?” Well, it definitely did NOT happen this time when he charged an exorbitant amount of money for this trip and offered the complete opposite in terms of service and accommodations so I sincerely hope that all of you who read this do not suffer the same fate.
And on that note…it’s time to take a deep breath and emanate some positive vibes!
I’m back with some more amazing animal acts from my trip to Guilin. I got to see more than my share of tigers lounging around and hanging out in the bathhouses cuz it was just too muggy…
I even got to see some bear cubs wrestling, which reminded me a lot of human kids playing around too…
And now it’s performance time! We start with bears walking on their two hind legs the entire way like their human counterparts…
Later, these bears starting pretending that they were blowing trumpets from the Chinese medieval age. Wait…was there ever a Medieval Age in China?
Have you ever seen a bear walk on its “hands” all the way around a racetrack?
Next, we’ve got a horse galloping down the stretch with a bear on its back!
I really enjoyed a monkey sitting on his trusty “steed”…
And the next thing you know, he’s coming up this pole to welcome all the guests sitting in the higher rows!
Of course, we can’t forget the bicycling bear!
As long as I didn’t think too much about how the animals were probably treated to perform and perfect such amazing acts, I was in awe of them all.
I recently came across this quote from a U.S. President describing Guilin:
“No Place in China is More Evocative of the Beauty of Your Country than Guilin.”
Do you know which President visited and showered this city with such a complement?
All I need to say are two words, and I am sure you will know…
Monica. Lewinsky.
Yep…it was good ole Bill Clinton who sang these words of praise to Guilin. And when I can wake up to a view like this every morning from my apartment, I can definitely start to see why…
It’s not really the buildings that are impressive but the mountainous terrain that lies just before the horizon. On a clear sunny day, I’d be blown away.
One day, I went up to Chuan Shan mountain and pounded some sort of peanut-based honey candy with the locals…
I think they were a little surprised that I requested to do some hammering myself, but these guys definitely put in the elbow grease for some delicious treats.
On another day, we set out to the Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Mountain Village. I Twitter-ed previously that this 300,000 square meter area contained over 1,500 tigers after one of the workers there spouted out this number. Sure, this picture does have quite a few tigers…
…but I think the number is more around 80 tigers or so. Regardless, it was quite an “interesting” attraction where the Chinese even got various animals to perform circus tricks. Have you ever seen a goat walk up a ladder?
How about walk on a tight rope?
And to top it off, marvel at this goat balance all four legs on a small wooden table while a monkey does a handstand on its horns!
Wow…Amazing. All I can say is, “I definitely ain’t in Kansas no more!”
Hope you enjoyed that cuz I’ve got more crazy animal acts to share next time!
I’ve had a coupla days to admire the surroundings around this city Guilin in China. All around the bustling city center is an eye-catcher of a landscape surrounded by various rock formations and mountainous terrain. Many historical Chinese paintings of landscapes and scenery have been inspired from the beauty of this city.
There’s been a lot to see, and I even had an opportunity to explore inside some of these hills at a popular tourist spot called the Reed Flute Cave Scenic Area, which is located approximately 6 kilometers from downtown Guilin. Honestly, I was a little apprehensive about what to expect, but once you step inside the “air conditioned” taverns, you’ll be impressed with the various rock formations highlighted with colored lights…
The organizers made it difficult to take any pictures ourselves, but I still managed to “borrow some light” to show the tourists around me that you can do anything!
Taking this tour through the Reed Flute Cave brought back memories of my school days when I was still trying to remember the difference between stalagtites and stalagmites. Once you know that the “t” in stalagTites stands for the top, then you know they’re the ones that come from above. Here’s a few more shots I popped off with my new Samsung EX1 kick~ass cam…
Once the cave tour was completed, it’s back into the heat to explore more of this incredible terrain…
I still don’t think I have done justice to Guilin with my current crop of pictures so my goal is to share some more soon. Til then, have a great day cuz you know I will!
Recently, I’ve been taking a lot of pictures from my travels overseas, and I noticed that my Samsung WB500 camera has been experiencing some “growth.” In other words, I’ve got some friendly white friends colonizing inside the lens of the camera. While the pictures still turn out great, I sometimes get this whitish “orb-like” image on certain shots. Can you see it in the lower right quadrant?
Okay, this pictures wasn’t too obvious. How about this one?
Well, there is no time like now to upgrade and outfit myself then with Samsung’s newest bad boy camera, the EX1. I’ve just started using it, and I can say this gadget is sleek in every sense of the word…
Yesterday, Li Lin was the “hostess with the mostess” for a Universal Entertainment private function. In case you didn’t know, they’re the guys behind Hallmark Channel, “The Biggest Loser Asia,” etc. After she completed her gig, the organizers were kind enough to invite all of us down to have some fun at the recently opened Universal Studios Singapore at Sentosa. So I grabbed the kids from school and drove over to the amusement park to see what this new attraction at Resorts World is all about.
After we parked the car in this enormous underground parking structure, we made our way to the park. The kids were still a little unclear as to where we were taking them, but I think Jonas got the picture after he caught a glimpse of the rollercoaster…
Universal Studios Singapore is set up with a huge lake right in the middle. I am still not exactly sure what’s the purpose of it, but you can catch a glimpse of it from one of the kiddie rides in the Ancient Egypt theme land…
…and I’ve gotten used to doing a lot of these little people rides now.
Far Far Away theme land pretty much all happens inside and around a castle structure that’s inspired from the Shrek movies…
…and the Shrek 4-D Adventure is a great spot to cool down with its air con from the crazy heat here in Singapore. Just be prepared to wait a good chunk of time while some worker takes seemingly forever to “warm up” the crowd before we’re all finally seated in the movie hall. I really hope they’ll get rid of this “foreplay” cuz it’s pointless and totally eats into the rest of your day where you have no choice but to wait for the rides.
One of the main “live” shows is WaterWorld, which is based on that now old Kevin Costner “blockbuster” movie with the same title. Fortunately, this show was more entertaining than the original film, and plan to get splashed if you decided to sit down low in the “Soak Zone.”
So what’s my final verdict?
At $66 SGD per adult ticket, it’s still really competitive priced compared to its original American “big brother.” However, this amusement park is still in it’s “soft opening” phase so it closes early at 6 PM, which means you’ll be in a mad rush to wait in line for rides from about 4 PM onwards. Although there didn’t seem to be a lot of people at the park, some of the more popular rides were still easily putting people in line at least thirty minutes. Thank goodness we had a Universal Access pass which allows you to bypass the lines. I can’t even imagine how crazy the lines will get on the weekends or when the big crowds come rolling in so maybe you can tell me if you decide to go.
But then again, all of this can easily be overlooked when you can put one of these smiles on those little people’s faces…
Now, it’s time to remind Sage and Jonas again to eat healthy so they can grow tall like this dude!
Last week, Li Lin and I took Sage and Jonas for a quick family holiday to Phuket, Thailand. Planning these family vacations are always a challenge because our schedules are totally “fluid” and not set. In fact, I always end up having to work the moment I book a trip so Murphy’s Law seems to be in full effect on me. Nevertheless, we all made it out to Phuket for a fun-filled time with the little ones.
I really hoped to stay the entire duration of the trip, but alas, I had to cut out short so I could get my “Game On” again. This is the all-new reality sports show from Starhub that’s part of the media machine for the upcoming first ever Youth Olympic Games being held in Singapore. With Melody Chen as my co-host, I’m trying my best to say the right things to keep a smile on her face…
…I think I’m doing pretty good thus far, and I’ll even make sure to find time to keep the atmosphere light and hearty!
Now, Game On is a simple and fun show where we get a group of kids together to “think and play” sports for a chance to win a load of prizes. The young contestants will be asked sporty questions…
…and they’ll definitely have to show everyone their physical prowess too!
As much as I would like to get into the mix and participate, I’m already having a great time just enjoying the action from the sidelines as both teams battle it out…
Although I know I’m having a great time being wacky, wild, and crazy as the host of this show, you never really know what the contestants are thinking. Just in case the team members just really aren’t vibin with this ole foggie of a host, the producers have been kind enough to bring on special guests such as this year’s CLEO magazine’s Most Eligible Bachelor, Parker Lam!
I still don’t think my kids have any idea what they want to be when they grow up although Sage has been mentioning being a magician would be “pretty cool.” And for Jonas? We got him some little Calvin Klein underwear so he can feel like the “big boys” on the billboards! ;-P
Yesterday, we wrapped up our third and final open casting call in Malaysia at the Queensbay Mall in Penang.
Here’s a shot from high above as people were just started to stroll in to apply for their chance to compete in TARA4…
Again, I’d like to thank all of our fans and supporters who turned up for the events. And after meeting many of the potential racers, all I can say is, “Malaysia will be Ready to Rock and Roll in the race!”
And for all of you procrastinators out there, you’ve still got some time so hurry up and send in your application NOW!
This weekend, the Li’l Man in my so-called life turned four so we organized a small party for him with all his little peeps in tow. Although I must confess it’s a lot more work when the parents decide to do everything themselves at home, it’s all more than worth it to see the joy in all the children’s faces.
Of course, the highlight is always witnessing a swarm of kids throwing water balloons in every direction…
…and you’ll be sure to remember a party if your daughter nails you in the family jewels!
Now that Jonas is finally four and CNY has passed, it’s time to get down to bizness!
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