Travel tips in Sri Lanka-Lao

Sri Lanka traveling

• Sri Lanka has attracted travelers for centuries. Marco Polo delineated it as the finest island of its size in the world. Balanced just above the Equator amid the balmy waters of the Indian Ocean, the island’s legendary fame for natural beauty and plenty has influenced an almost magical regard even in those who have never visited the place.
• Romantically inclined geographers, poring over maps of the island, compared its outline to a teardrop falling from the tip of India or to the shape of a pearl (the less softhearted Dutch likened it to a leg of ham), while even the name given to the island by early Arab traders – Serendib – gave rise to the English word “serendipity”.

Sri-Lanka-Sigiriya-Rock

• Marco Polo’s bold claim still holds true. Sri Lanka packs an extraordinary variety of places to visit within its modest physical dimensions, and few islands of comparable size can boast a natural environment of such beauty and diversity. Sri Lanka boasts more than two thousand years of recorded history, and the noteworthy achievements of the early Sinhalese civilization can still be seen in the continuation of ruined cities and great religious monuments that litter the northern plains.
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  The glories of this early Buddhist civilization continue to provide a benchmark of national identity for the island’s Sinhalese population, while Sri Lanka’s historic role as the world’s oldest stronghold of Theravada Buddhism lends it a unique cultural identity that permeates life at every level. There’s more to Sri Lanka than just Buddhists, however.
• The island’s geographical position at one of the most important staging posts of Indian Ocean trade laid it open to a uniquely wide range of influences, as generations of Malay, Arab, Portuguese, Dutch and British settlers subtly transformed its culture, architecture and cuisine, while the long-established Tamil population in the north have established a vibrant Hindu culture that owes more to India than to the Sinhalese south.
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  However, this very diversity that has long threatened to tear the country apart. But now, The island is experiencing peace for the first time in a generation, and although the physical, political and human scars of war remain raw in many places, most Sri Lankans are now once again looking to the future with secured optimism.

Sri_lanka_fishermen

In My blog I have  useful travel articles for people who travel in Asia as in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand.

Best time to visit Laos

The best time to visit Laos depends on your preferences.

• Do you plan to travel Laos, You should know: having two distinct weather seasons in Laos. Laos’s weather system is relatively simple compared with much of Asia; including a dry season (October to late April) and a rainy season (May to late September).
• Within each season there are transformation in temperature, with the dry months causing to the wet season (March and April) and the early rainy season (May and June) usually being the hottest of the year.

Laos weather summary

The dry season from November to April has almost no rain and temperatures are more moderate. The rainy season from May to October is marked by tropical heavy rains in the afternoon, though some travelers prefer to visit Laos at this time, when fewer tourists come and prices are markedly lower.

Rainy season

• The early months of the rainy season (May to July) remain very hot and rainfall is often short lived, while in the latter months (late July to September) the rains trend to get more constant and can be heavy at times. Especially in southern of the country. Further north and in Luang Prabang, rainfall trends to be lighter and you can often expect rain during the night or mornings with some relatively clear afternoons. Across Laos, throughout the rainy season, daytime temperatures average around 29°C in the lowlands and 23°C in the mountain valleys.
• Temperatures throughout the country are also greatly effected by height with much of the country at a level that degrees the country’s average temperatures by several degrees °C. As a general rule north, central and eastern regions are at a higher area than those in the south, where at its lowest, in the Mekong River valley, humidity is higher and temperatures in exuberancy of 35°C are not uncommon between March and April.
• Throughout the country in all but the hottest months is often advisable to have a jumper or fleece for the evenings, when there is a tendency for it to get quite cool.

Laos landscape

 

If you are having a Laos traveling plan, please read more about The best food in Laos.

 

The best time to visit Cambodia

The best time to visit Cambodia depends on the rainfall, heat and number of tourists. Most travelers visit Cambodia from November to March next year. If you prefer to dodge the crowds and go when prices are lower, the best time to visit Cambodia is from May to early October. If you were here at this time, you could explore Cambodia local food comfortablly. 

Cambodia weather

• The country is warm all year round, though there are several distinct seasons influencing to visit Cambodia. There is little rain between November and May, the so-called dry season, which itself divides into two categorical phases.
• The cool season (November–February) is the peak time for tourism – explore the temples in comfort but warm enough to sunbathe on the beaches. Humidity and temperatures rise slightly during the hot season ( from March to May), with Phnom Penh and Battambang seeing peak daytime temperatures of 33–35°C. It is an excellent time to visit the coast, although Angkor is usually bakingly hot. 
• Dry season temperatures, (November – April) range from a 68°F (20°C) minimum to highs in the 80s (high 20s), with maximums reaching 95°F (35°C) in March. Humidity remains about 74% and rainfall is minimal so roads can be a little dusty, while the leafy areas around the temples are easier to go over. This is a busy time of year to travel, so some sites and temples can be crowded.

Cambodia weather

Tourists should avoid wet season

• Wet season of Cambodia comes courtesy of the southwest monsoon and lasts from May to October, bringing with it almost 75% of annual rainfall of Cambodia. Across Cambodia, throughout much of the rainy season, daytime temperatures about between 25°C and 27°C.
• The early months of the wet season (May – July) remain very hot with infrequent rainfall usually in the form of short downpours. In the latter July – September the rains tend becomes more constant and is heavy at times, especially in coastal and rural regions.
• Traveling in the more remote corners of the country is almost impossible due to the state of the roads and journeys into the north east are inadvisable during the peak wet season because of this. There is also limited access to Bamboo Island (near Kep) due to high seas.

The best time to visit Malaysia

 

Malaysia Weather

Temperatures very little in Malaysia, hovering constantly at or just above 30°C by day, while humidity is high year-round. Rainfalls occur year-round too, often in the mid-afternoon, though these short, sheeting downpours clear up as quickly as they arrive. There is a major distinction in the seasons, and worth bearing in mind when considering the best time to visit Malaysia, is the arrival of the northeast monsoon (ushering in what is locally called the rainy season). This particularly effects the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and the western end of Sarawak, there are heaviest showers in late November to mid-February seeing.

Becarefull with wet season in Malaysia

On the Peninsula’s west coast and in Sabah, September and October are the wettest months. Monsoonal heavy rains can be heavy and prolonged, sometimes lasting two or three hours and prohibiting more or less all activities for the duration; boats to most islands in affected areas won’t attempt the sea swell at the height of the wet season. In mountainous areas and in the hill stations and hilly land national parks, you may experience more knotty rain as the high peaks gather clouds more or less forever.

The best time to visit Malaysia

The best time to visit most of the regions in Malaysia is generally between March and early October, when you can avoid the worst of the rainy season and there’s less humidity, though air pollution, usually caused by forest fires in Indonesia, can cause opaque conditions and even cancel flights and enjoy Malaysia food in the best condition. Although the rains, January and February are rewarding, and see a number of important festivals, notably Chinese New Year and the Hindu celebration of Thaipusam. Traveling just after the wet season can afford the best of all worlds, with verdant countryside and beautiful waterfalls, though there’s still a quality of clammy to the air.

Sabah

Arrive in Sabah in May is the best. You’ll be able to take in the Sabah Fest, a week-long commemoration of Sabahan culture, while in Sarawak, June’s Gawai Festival is well worth attending, when longhouse doors are opened for several days of rice-harvest merry-making, with dancing, eating, drinking and music.

Benefiting from its location just north of the Equator, summer is best for Malaysia traveling. The capital of country and west coast are hot all year round, making it an ideal place to visit for a city and/or beach break. Rain should be anticipated throughout the year, but these heavy rains shouldn’t impact on your amusement. During September and October, the west coast destinations such as Langkawi and Penang see more rain than usual. At this time of year, a visitor to historic Georgetown and island hopping off Langkawi are best substituted by an east coast destination.

Cambodia street foods you have to try

If you are a food lover, you will also love Cambodia street foods.
Cambodian food is perhaps the most overlooked of all Asian cuisines. Too often Cambodian cooking is dismissed as a lesser version of Thai or Vietnamese fare. Traveling in Cambodia will give you the chance to learn about this much misunderstood cuisine and enjoy its unique charms. It is true that Cambodian food has much in common with that of its neighbors, particularly the cooking of Vietnam. Many dishes that are widely known as Vietnamese are also common in Cambodia. But here I will introduce you a list of Cambodian street food which some of them Vietnam does not have. Beside, if you travel Cambodia, you should also travel Laos because they are adjacent to each other.

1. Barbeque Skewers
2. Fish amok
3. Lok lak
4. Cambodia’s noodle soup
5. Cambodia hot pot BBQ
6. Beef skewers
7. Fried noodles
8. Iced coffee with milk
9. Coconut Ice Cream
10. Bread Ice Cream

List of Malaysia street foods tourist Should try before leaving

Street food is always interesting in Asian countries. It charms every tourist and local people. When you come a different place, Let eat as a local man. It mean: eat their foods in their way. In Malaysia, you’ll be overwhelmed by the endless choices available to you. Then is a list of Malaysia best street foods you Must try:

1. Assam Laksa (Rice Noodles in Fishy Soup)
2. Rojak (Fruit and Vegetable Salad)
3. Apom Balik (Stuffed Pancake)
4. Batu Maung Satay (Grilled Meat on Skewers)
5. Koay Chiap (Duck and Noodle Soup)
6. Lok Lok (Hot Pot)
7. Chee Cheong Fun (Rice-Noodle Rolls
8. Coffee Drinks: Nescafé and Milo (Coffee and Chocolate Malted Beverage)
9. Teh Tarik (Pulled Tea)
10. Ice Kacang (Corn-Bean Frozen Dessert)
11. Bak Kua Bread (Dried Pork Subs)
12. Otak Otak (Fish Cakes)
13. Kuih Kosui (Glutinous Rice and Coconut Dessert)

A street food store

Please refer to Vietnam and other countries in Asia in my blog: Best time to visit Asia

The Top things to do in Malaysia

Malaysia is a quite develop country. So there are many expensive works at here. Malaysia local food is special, though. Because, Malaysia is combination among Chinese, Indian, Malaysian cultural cuisine. The cultural diversity that it has made for the highlight of Malaysia attractions, makes tourists impressed.

Petronas Twin Towers (Kuala Lumpur)

Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers, are twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Petronas Twin Towers were once the tallest buildings in the world. Now the world’s tallest twin construction,  the 88-storey buildings were designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates with both towers joined at the 41st and 42nd floors by a 58 metre-long, double-decker Sky Bridge.

Petronas Twin Towers (Kuala Lumpur)

Langkawi Cable Car

• Cable Car is the highest in Langkawi. Cable Car or SkyCab is located at the oldest part of South East Asia. It is the first to knob from the ancient sea and estuary! That’s something to give a goosebump if you can get the gist. Come and experience it yourself.
• The Base Station is located at the foothill of the Machinchang mountain. From here, visitors will be taken up to the cool Machinchang mountain via the cable car system. The ride will be an exhilarate experience for everyone to enjoy. You will also be able to gripe a glimpse of the flora and fauna that surrounds the area.

Langkawi Cable Car

Jonker Walk Night Market

Weekly shopping extravaganza in Melaka keeps the shops along Jin Hang Jebat open late while trinket sellers, food barkeepers and the occasional psychic man close the street to traffic. It has become far more commercial, attracting scores of tourists.

Jonker Walk Night Market

Kinabalu national park

• Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia’s capital city, doesn’t really personify Borneo – the capital isn’t a muddle of leafy greens and seaside hutches, but it is the place to go for a cache of Sabahan’s topmost sights.
• Home to the 4095-metre Mount Kinabalu, Southeast Asia’s highest peak, the Kinabalu National Park was located in northwest Sabah, is first UNESCO World Heritage Site of Malaysia. It has one of the world’s largest collections of fauna and flora; the two-day journey across its landscape to get to the top of the Borneo peak is a sure-fire adventure challenge for intrepid climbers.

Kinabalu national park

Redang Island

• The beautiful island of Pulau Redang lies about 22 km off Tanjung Merang or 45 km north-northeast of Kuala Terengganu, the closest point on the continent. The Bugis people from Celebes, Indonesia were believed to be the first people on the island. Many of their descendants are now working the tourist trade in Redang while others have moved to the mainland.
• Through the years, Redang has grown to be one of the most popular destinations for tourists and divers due its original nature and rich marine environment.

Redang Island

Please refer to Best time to visit Malaysia to prepare luggage in the best way for your journey.

Vietnam food – Vietnam traditional food – Viet traditional meal

In this past, I don’t know what I should say about first because there are many things to say about Vietnam traditional food. Then I am going to talk about traditional daily meal of ancient Vietnamese people and its characteristic.

Viet traditional meal

Viet traditional meal

Formula of the Viet ancient meal of Professor Tran Quoc Vuong is: rice, vegetables, fish.
Vietnam is a country which has many rivers, lakes and ponds so Vietnamese people grow wet rice.
Normally, Vietnamese people do not eat sticky rice, eat ordinary rice. Sticky rice is only used for a few special dishes on some special days. Rice is present in all the meals or products made from rice as noodles. Rice is an object for worshipping in many temples of Vietnam. It is said to start from the Mother Godness Worshipping, the most long–standing belief in Vietnam. Rice is really a big thing out here. The very first written characters constituting the word “Happiness” in ancient Vietnamese is the image of many rice plants and a square symbolizing a paddy field. Rice is not only happiness, it really forms Vietnamese.
In ancient Vietnam, vegetables is always boiled, no oil, no fat it is good for health and help the body cool.
Finally, why ancient Viet people ate fish in their meals because Viet people lived with water. I mean, There are many rivers which include many fishs and freshwater fisheries. They have high protein and low fat unlike meat.
Everything is processed with cool and fresh way to balance the hot weather of the tropics.
All things make the frugality of the Vietnamese cuisine. Vietnamese food now today is nearly same to before. May be have many spices, but always soothing and delicate.

A little about Vietnamese History – Vietnamese culture

Vietnam culture

Vietnamese Puppets

Vietnam culture now today is mainly the interference between local culture and Chinese, India and France culture.
Besides, Vietnamese culture is characterized by three northern, central and south with 3 major groups: Vietnamese, Champa and Khmer.
Find out about Vietnam culture you will find almost everything revolves around the aforementioned the cultures.

Vietnam History

Vietnamese history is quite long. This country has gone through different dynasties and changed name many times. And, the name Vietnam originated in 1803 when envoys from the newly founded Nguyen dynasty traveled to Beijing to make diplomatic relations with the Chinese court. The new emperor had chosen the name Nam Viet for his kingdom. The word “Viet”  was derived from the traditional name for the Vietnamese imperial domain and its people in what is now northern and central of Vietnam. Nam(south) had been added to acknowledge the expansion of the dynasty’s domain into lands to the south. The Chinese protested to this new name because it was the same as an ancient state that had rebelled against Chinese rule. Therefore, They changed it to Viet Nam. Vietnamese officials resented the change and it did not attain public acceptance until the late 1800s.

The first Declaration of Independence of Vietnam

This is the poem: ” Nam quốc Sơn hà” – “south country” mean Vietnam, because Vietnam is south to China. This poem is assert sovereignty about Vietnam’s Independent.

Today, we still do not know who its author is. But many people believe that the author is general Ly Thuong Kiet under the Ly dynasty. He read this poem in Battle on Như Nguyệt river against the Tong’s soldiers. 

The Top best foods in Malaysia

 

People know Malaysia not only about famous Petronas Twin Towers but also many different attractions. In addition, Malaysia food is amazing because of mixing of Malay, Chinese, Indian and European influences. Malay, Chinese, Indian – there are so many culinary traditions colliding in Malaysia that it’s impossible to sum it up neatly. This culinary traditions colliding also appears in the street food of Malaysia you can see more. Below is the signature dishes of Malaysia you MUST try.

Nasi Lemak

 

Nasi lemak was mentioned in the book: “The Circumstances of Malay Life”, written Sir Richard Olof Winstedt in 1909.

 

Nasi lemak is a Malay rice dish. It is cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is commonly found in Malaysia, where it is considered the national dish and It is also popular in neighbouring countries such as Singapore. Nasi lemak served with anchovies, boiled egg, peanuts, lamb curry, cucumber and traditional chili paste. Its name in Malay literally means “oily or fatty rice”. Nasi lemak is symbol of Malaysian cuisine and Malaysian culture. Nasi lemak are traditionally wrapped in banana leaves.

Nasi Lemak

 

Sang Har noodles

Sang Har Mee is probably one of the most expensive fried noodles in Malaysia, because large fresh water prawns are getting rarer and rarer, especially when China begins to import fresh water prawns from Southeast Asia. What makes Sang Har Mee overwhelmingly delicious is the prawn paste or prawn roe that is stored within the giant heads of the prawns, which makes a strong and fragrant aroma to the taste.

Sang Har noodles, Sang har mee, or freshwater prawn noodles, it is traditionally a combination of crispy noodles, firm yet succulent freshwater prawns, and gravy richly flavour with egg and roe.

The freshwater prawns come complete with creamy roe in the prawns’ heads.

Sang Har noodles

Banana Leaf Rice

One of the great south Indian cuisine, Chettinad cuisine. Chettinad cuisine is the cuisine of the Chettinad region, Tamil Nadu state, South India. If you love rice, you will definitely love the Banana Leaf Rice.

In a banana leaf rice dish, white rice is served on a banana leaf with an assortment of vegetables, curried meat orpickles, fish, and the super addictive papadum ( look like giant, round, flat crisps). Most of the time, however, only the gravy of the curry will be served and no meat as it is meant to be a traditional Indian vegetarian dish.

This meal is traditionally eaten with the hand as Idian style eating.

Banana Leaf Rice

 

Hokkien Mee

Hokkien mee is a Malaysian dish and Singaporean cuisine that has its origins in the cuisine of Fujian province in China.
Fried Hokkien mee (Chinese style cuisine- fried yellow noodles) has a cult in Kuala Lumpur. This is a dish of thick yellow noodles braised in thick dark soy sauce with pork, fish-cake, squid and cabbage as the main ingredients and cubes of crispy fried pork lard as garnishing (which would be the square cubes that you see on the top of the noodle).
Some might say that the pork lard is the main ingredient.
It is eaten before a huge night out, after a huge night out, for dinner, at all hours of the day really. If you have not eaten Hokkien Mee, It means you have not visited Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur Hokkien Mee

Malaysian Satay

Malaysian Satay, close analogues the Yakitori from Japan, the Sosatie from South Africa, the Shish Kebab from Turkey. For satay, the “must have” ingredient which makes the dish its characteristic yellow colour derived from tumeric. It is serve up with a spicy peanut sauce dip, or peanut gravy, slivers of cucumbers and onions and ketupat (rice cakes).. and you have a balanced meal of carbo, fats, protein and vegetables but tastes delightfully sinful.. not unlike junk food!

Malaysian Satay

See more Malaysia street foods at here.