The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen often ranks as one of the most most disappointing attractions in Europe. I don’t know about that. Afterall you are forewarned that it’s going to be little.
If you were one of those people who felt let down by the Little Mermaid then maybe you should come to Thailand. In Songkha, in the deep south of Thailand, there is a mermaid you might be interested in. She is the Golden Mermaid.
She is a full grown woman of a mermaid and it is even possible to sit on her lap.
Legend has it that if you rub her breasts you will have good luck. Judging by her well worn bosum many have been before me to top up on luck. Me, I never pass up an opportunity to top up on luck, so how could I not.
She has become the symbol of the town and is even featured on the streets signs.
Spotted in Satun, Thailand. Not a chicken bus in the traditional sense, but a VIP bus adorned with chickens.
Penang is well known for being a foodies paradise, and it is one of those destinations where people go just to eat. If you don’t know your Hokkien Mee from your Wan Tan Mee (that would be me), there is a great brochure that lists the most popular dishes of the Island. It gives a description of each meal and a map of where to find them around the George Town area. Pick up the brochure from your guesthouse or the tourism office.
Penang Food Guide
I have been to Penang twice before so this time I was only passing through on the way to Langkawi. This short stay meant that I only had three possible eating opportunities (without being gluttonous). I had a morning ferry to catch so I didn’t think I was going to get a good breakfast either.
I found out on the way to the ferry terminal that there are 24 hour Indian restaurants here. To be able to get a curry 24 hours a day must surely be the pinnacle of civilisation.
Indian Restaurant – Open 24 Hours
My favourite breakfast dish is Roti Canai. When I am travelling to Malaysia I usually start drooling about a day before I arrive, knowing that I am going to get a good roti canai. A plain roti is about RM0.90 (25 cents USD) and there are different varieties with egg, cheese and meat fillings.
Sometimes restaurants will have a pile of premade roti, but the best ones are made to order, so your roti arrives steaming hot and melt in the mouth good.
Roti Canai With Curry Dips – Breakfast of Champions
The flag of Malaysia at Cenang Beach, Langkawi – Malaysia.
Once again I have been lured by an AirAsia sale and find myself in Kuala Lumpur. I didn’t intend to book a flight when I checked the AirAsia page, I was just checking if there was anything new on the site. Next thing you know the flashing $149 AUD one way sale banner was hypnotizing me and I had my credit card out ready to go.
Being not too dependent on time my criteria for booking flights is to find the cheapest available. The two cheapest flights I could find were 2 and a half months apart. So for the next 80 days Southeast Asia is my living and working playground.
Port of Monaco.
The Venetian - Macau
Venice, Vegas or Macau? If you picked all three you would kind of be right. The Venetian is modelled on the Ponte Di Rialto And Campanile in Venice.
The Cotai Strip in Macau as known as the Vegas of Asia, and the The Venetian in Macau is the same Venetian in Las Vegas.
I did a 5 day stop-over in Tokyo in 2007 en route to London from Australia. One thing I really wanted to see was the Harajuku girls and associated sub-culture. What I didn’t know until I got there was that all the cool stuff at Harajuku happens on the weekend. I was in Tokyo from Monday to Friday, so I missed out. This just gives me another excuse to return to Tokyo (not that I need one).
Even if you are there during the week Harajuku is worth checking out for the shopping. Lot’s of unique stuff you can get so when people ask where you got that special something, you can give your coolest look and say “I got this in Tokyo”.
I saw this T-shirt which made me laugh. I’m not laughing at Big Bird copping it in the neck, it’s the maniacal faces of Ernie and Bert that does it for me.
The Last Supper
For my vegetarian friends here is a more sombre collection of meat on the table T-shirts.
Dinner Table Animals
Roggendorf Haus is an old warehouse in the Media Harbour development in Dusseldorf.
The giant plastic men are inspired from those rubber men that you throw on glass then gradually flip down to the ground.
Boxing day in Australia means two things on the sporting calendar – The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Cricket is the most popular summer sport in Australia. It is remarkable that the game has remained popular considering that Test Match cricket goes for 5 days and still doesn’t guarantee a result.
I like how it involves playing teams from places like Pakistan and the West Indies. I also like how the captains wear blazers before the start of play, even on a blazing hot day.
Pakistan Captain Mohammad Yousuf
