THE AL JENADRIYAH FESTIVAL IN SAUDI ARABIA

The Al Jenadriyah Heritage Festival in Saudi Arabia is celebrated every year and it is considered as one of the most famous cultural events in the country. It displays an insight into Saudi’s history, which is important in keeping the customs and traditions of the country. Come to Saudi Arabia to witness its Camel race and unique performances such as singing and dancing. Come and join in the fun!

Some of the exciting activities that you'll enjoy:

1. Camel racing

2. Horse Racing

3. Folk Poetry and tradition

BAMBOO TRAIN IN BATTAMBANG, CAMBODIA

It is a very funny experience to be sitting on a bamboo train. The thought of it makes me smile; looking at it is even more adorable! For those of you who would like to experience something different and unusual, you should take a trip on a bamboo train. Only in Cambodia, this train is unique in its own way. The bamboo train is one of the world's all-time classic rail journeys and it runs southeast to O Sra Lav. Tourists love it, so do I.

I like the fact that this train will be dismantled whenever another train is coming from the opposite direction! The train with fewer passengers would have to be dismantled. You probably ask yourself "What happen if 2 trains accidentally meet each other and get into an accident?" This sounds dangerous, which is probably one of the reasons why this bamboo train might be banned from continuing its service. Oh no! Well, this problem is not impossible but the local conductors are responsible for the trains' schedule. They know the time for each train to move and when they are expected to arrive or reach to a certain destination. You can also hear the tooting sound made by the train as it travels from a great distance. There is enough time for another train to be dismantled. 

If you have never been on a bamboo train, do give it a try. I assure you that you will have a good time. You probably won't get the chance to this next time. Grab the chance while you can! Cheers! =)

Can't get enough of Korea!

South Korea shares its traditional culture with North Korea, but they may vary a little since the peninsula was divided in the year 1945. The Korean culture is very much influenced by its neighbouring country, China. However, it was able to develop its culture and transformed it into a unique culture that represents the people of Korea, which you can see today. 

Food & Beverages

Koreans have lots of nice and delicious food and beverages. You should try Korean wines, they are fantastic! Try “Makkoli”, a traditional alcoholic beverage native to Korea. It is referred to in English as Korean rice wine. It is produced through fermenting a mixture of rice grains and boiled water. It was originally quite popular among farmers in Korea. However, it become more popular in cities. 

On the other hand, Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings and it was originally developed as a way to preserve the vitamins and minerals in vegetables over the long winter.  There are a lot of types of Kimchi. Kimchi is the most common side dish (banchan) in Korean dishes. You can try making your own home-cooked Kimchi. The preparation is simple and easy! 

Exciting places of interest

1. Everland Theme Park

 Everland was opened in the year 1976 and it is the 4^th theme park in the world by offering 5 main festivals and cool entertainments throughout the year. It is opened every day and tourists can dine at Everland’s restaurants, such as the Holland Village, Flanders restaurant, Oriental restaurant, Venezia restaurant, and many more! There are also gift shops where you can grab some souvenirs for your friends and family. Do visit the Grand Emporium and Lacian Memorium!

2. Jiri Mountain

Jiri Mountain is considered as the most spiritual among the many South Korea Mountains. It is situated on the southern portion of the Sobaek Mountains and is home to seven Buddhist temples! If you love hiking, you should try exploring this mountain. Trust me; you would fall in love with it!

LocalSIMKad™ Korea

For those who wish to save on their telecommunication when travelling to Korea, take LocalSIMKad™ Korea with you! This will save you from paying expensive roaming charges! If you are looking for convenience, this product is for you. Furthermore, you will get a phone rental when you use LocalSIMKad™ Korea since everyone, including travellers, have to rent a phone when they are in Korea. You can book it 3 days before you travel at www.localsimkad.com and then collect it upon arrival. What a hassle free service, don't you think so? 

For more info on Korea travel, visit http://www.visitkorea.com.my/

What's up in Borneo

Located in Sarawak, the Sarawak Cultural Village is the place to be for those of you who love cultures and traditions. Tighten your seatbelts and head off to this village. It is very close to the legendary Mount Santubong and 35km from Sarawak’s capital city, Kuching. The famous World Harvest Festival and Rainforest World Music Festival are held here every year!

The Sarawak Cultural Village displays the heritage of some racial groups in Sarawak, for example, the heritage of the Iban and Bidayuh communities. You’ll get to see some of Sarawak’s handicrafts too, such as the Kain Songket by the Malay community, Pua Kumbu and Parangs by the Ibans, Bidayuh Baskets by the Bidayuh tribe, and some wood carving by the Orang Ulu.  

If you are a music lover, get your Rainforest World Music Festival ticket now and experience this unique festival that brings together renowned world musicians from all continents and talented musicians from the beautiful island of Borneo. The festival will run for 3 days. You can attend to all 3 days event or choose which of the 3 days that you wish to attend. Lots of souvenir t-shirts will be sold here, including your favourite artist’s CD! You can also get them to sign your CD if you want =)

To avoid dehydration, take a bottle of water with you! Remember to always drink enough water, especially when you are in a crowd!

Konda Kondi, only in Asia

Konda Kondi, also known as "Eye Perik" is a traditional game played by the children in Malaysia. It is also played in India, although its name may vary; it's called  "kaunda kaundi". This game can be played by at least two people.

This is how you play the game:

The game uses two sticks over 0.5 meters and a  hole is dug in the ground as deep as 0.2 meters; and 0.2 meters wide as well. Timber is placed horizontally in the middle hole. A stick is used to pry up the wood, and then darted away from an opponent. It's easy to play. Try it! =D

A treat of Halo-Halo

What could be more satisfying than eating a Halo-halo in summer? For those whom may have not heard of Halo-Halo, it is a favourite Filipino dessert or snack. It is a mixture of sweet preserved beans, coconut meat, jackfruit, pounded dried rice, sweet yam, and cream flan, shreds of sweetened plantain filled with crushed ice, milk, and topped with ice cream. In Malaysia, a similar dessert to Halo-Halo is known as “Ais Kacang”. Try Halo-Halo today & taste its sweetness. So what are you waiting for? Let’s fly to the Philippines! 

Halo-Halo Recipe

Below is the method on how to prepare a Halo-Halo: 

Ingredients:

 2 each tb grated coconut or makapuno prese, rve

 2 each tb papaya sheds

 1/2 cup melon shreds

 2 each tb langka (fresh or preserve)

 1 each tb ubi

 1 each tb kaong 2 tsp sugar

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 crushed ice

Preparation:

First, combine any 4 of the first 6 ingredients in a glass. Then, fill up with crushed ice. Add sugar and evaporated milk. For a special Halo-halo, use a banana float dish. Top Halo-halo with 1 scoop ice-cream & cherry. Use ripe, firm fruits. Use macapuno scraper or grater to get shreds. There are also ready made mixed fruits available in a bottle called Halo-Halo mixes, in various bottles, with beans and corn, etc

Try it and have a great time eating it on a hot day! Enjoy! =)

Data Roaming is a Mobile Criminal

Many have yet to understand what roaming is all about. This has created frustrations among mobile users who accidentally roamed abroad, with or without even knowing it.

 Roaming is a term used in the telecommunication industry to refer to the extension of the connectivity service in a location different from the location of the home where the service was registered. Roaming charges refers to the telecommunication charges charged when mobile users make and receive calls outside their local network regions. Although many complaints have been made with regards to this matter, this phantom menace is still on the go.

Due to expensive global roaming charges, mobile users are always too afraid to use their mobile phones whenever they travel abroad. The data charges nightmare continues to haunt them once they have been bitten by it. Telcos all around the world are also trying to solve this in order to maintain good relationship with their customers. Many customers from all over the world have faced high telephone bills after foul of current high roaming charges, making them tired of being ripped off.

In Hong Kong, roaming charges issue is also frequently reported. Due to that, the Hong Kong Consumer Council advised mobile companies to always notify their customers of the existence of roaming charges. 172 complaints have been reported during the first four months of 2011 and the highest amount reported was HK$45,960.

Previously, a woman surnamed Kwok was charged for data charges when she travelled out of China. She claimed that she has already subscribed a day-based service for overseas data roaming with a daily charge of HK$120. Unfortunately, the plan did not cover roaming charges in Switzerland and Israel. She was then charged HK$16,000.

In the US, a South Florida woman was reported of being charged $200,000 on her roaming bills. Celina Aarons has two deaf brothers, so texting is how she keeps in touch with them. Her younger brother, Sharmir, went to Canada for a two-week holiday and happened to roam which eventually led to the high roaming charges. 

Remember, Always be careful! Don't be a victim! 

A taste of Dondurma, Turkish Ice-Cream

If you have not tried Turkish Ice-cream, you should give your tongue a taste of it! This gummy & yummy sweet treat from Istanbul is so unique due to its texture and taste. It can be found all around the world and people are always looking for this Ice-cream, called the Dondurma. It got its name from the word 'Freezing' and it is made of milk, sugar, salep, and mastic. This ice-cream is normally more expensive than the normal one due to its resistance from melting under the hot sun. It won't melt easily, so you can take your sweet time to eating it! This ice-cream would surely blow your mind! Below is a recipe on how to prepare a Dondurma:

Ingredients:

3 cups of double cream or whipping cream

3 cups of full fat milk

1 1/8 cups of sugar

3 teaspoons of salep (level)

7/8 - 1 teaspoon of golden gum mastic, ground

Methods:

First of all, grind the mastic. Mastic is normally sold in drops of resin that can stick to the mortar and pestle during grinding. Freeze mastic for 15 minutes before using and place it along with 1-2 tablespoons of the sugar in the mortar. Then, grind with the pestle.

Secondly, beat 1/2 cup of the milk with the ground mastic (and sugar used to grind) in a mixing bowl it is completely blended. Dissolve the salepi in 1/2 cup of cold milk. Warm the remaining milk in a saucepan over low heat. Beating the mastic mixture at high speed, add the warm milk, then the dissolved salepi. Add remaining sugar and cream to it.

Next, transfer the mixture to a saucepan and boil it over low heat for about 20 minutes. Make sure you stir it frequently to prevent any sticking and clumping. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

If there is no ice cream maker, quickly transfer it to a metal container, cover with tightly fitting lid or foil and place in freezer. Remove it from the freezer every half hour and transfer to a mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until frothy. Quickly place back in the metal container and put in the freezer. Repeat three more times.

Finally, remove it from the freezer 10 minutes before serving.

Serve alone, with a syrup topping or spoon sweet, and sprinkle with chopped almonds.

Enjoy!

5 FAMOUS HAUNTED BUILDINGS

1. Stanley hotel in Colorado

Remember the movie "The Shining", based on a novel written by Stephen King? The book was inspired by a stay at the Stanley in Estes Park, Colorado. King claimed that he heard ghost children playing in the hallway of the Stanley hotel. In fact, many spirits are said to haunt the place, while guests and employees claim to have heard faint music coming from the ballroom and seen the piano keys moving. Interesting huh? Definitely to me.

 2. Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A haunted place in the US, this nearly 200 years old prison used to keep prisoners who were mentally and physically tortured. Up to this day, people are still talking about how these prisoners were abused. This haunted building attracts tourists from all over the world. If you are interested, why not take a tour around the place? It would be an unforgettable experience ever!

3. Waverly Hills Sanatorium

A famous sanatorium in Kentucky, which is well-known to be haunted by unrest spirits, is one of the top haunted places in the US. There are many stories spoken about among the locals about this creepy place, but one of the most famous is the story of the Room 502. According to the locals, a crazy patient actually murdered a nurse in this room. She would roam around the hospital’s front door in her white gown, screaming at the top of her lungs. However, there was no report of that incident. Another legend tells a story of a nurse who was made pregnant by one of the doctors, and then killed herself in that room. 

4. The Tower of London

The Tower of London is very famous among the locals for being haunted. Many executions took place in this beautiful building and one of the most famous executions was the execution of Anne Boleyn. She was executed in this tower after being accused for practising witchcraft. Anne was beheaded in front of the public and it was said that her ghost returned to the tower, headless. Catherine Howard was also beheaded in this tower for her affair.

5. Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

A former bellhop was forced to retire and soon after he was asked to do so, he died in the year 1978. Since then, the hotel was believed to be haunted by the ghost of Sam Macaulay and his spirit roams around the hotel. Well, at least he was sort of like ‘Casper’, the friendly ghost. Guests have reported that they were helped by an old man when they lose their room keys; the man they were referring to was probably Sam Macaulay.

NO MORE ROAMING CHARGES

If you are looking for a product that can help you to save on your roaming charges, there is one product that is ready to serve you. Travel with LocalSIMKad™ of your destination and enjoy great savings when travelling abroad! It's really simple. With just 3 simple steps; Book, Collect, and Activate, you can make calls instantly without having to worry about roaming charges. 

LocalSIMKad™ is a local Telco prepaid SIM card embedded with value added services targeting inbound tourists. Travellers can book it online prior to departure and collect it upon arrival at the destination airport. With LocalSIMKad™, travellers can enjoy great savings on all incoming and outgoing calls within their destination country with no roaming charges at all. Travellers can get connected immediately and avoid the hassle of looking around for a local SIM card. With just a pre-registration, travellers can activate and terminate their LocalSIMKad™ number anytime they want. LocalSIMKad™ has no hidden charges; so travellers only pay for what they spend. Furthermore, they get to enjoy competitive rates. Like the sound of that? If you wish to save on your roaming charges, make sure you book your LocalSIMKad™ 3 days prior to your travel date.

To get your own LocalSIMKad™, simply visit the product’s official website. LocalSIMKad.com is a booking platform for global travellers to book their LocalSIMKad™ before travelling abroad. Travellers can book LocalSIMKad™ regardless of which country they will be departing from. The booking process is simple. Simply fill out all personal and flight details and you will receive your LocalSIMKad™ voucher.

To check out the amount of savings when using LocalSIMKad™ compared to paying for roaming charges, there is a savings calculator that you can play with. You will be surprised with the amount of savings that you will get! You can also top up, check your credit balance and check out your total spending; it works just like a normal prepaid card.With attractive value added services,this winner for the Best of Tourism and Hospitality offers a homely experience for travellers going abroad.

Visit www.localsimkad.com to book yours now! Cheers

Try the Tabbouleh!

Did you know that Tabbouleh is a special delicacy of the sham countries? It is a salad made of bulgur wheat, tomato, cucumber, and parsley. In 2009, the largest dish of tabbouleh to date weighed 4,324 kg (9,532 lb 12 oz) was recorded. Previously, Lebanon was one of the Guinness World Record holders for the largest tabbouleh (October 2009).


Here are the steps to prepare a Tabbouleh by Mahalo cooking:

Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients

The main ingredient of tabouli is bulgur, a whole grain which has been processed slightly to make it quick to cook. To make tabouli, the bulgur is soaked and drained, then mixed with dressing, herbs, and vegetables.

• 1 cup dry bulgur
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
• 1 red onion
• 2 cups fresh parley
• 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Step 2: Prepare Tabbouleh

1. Stir together the bulgar and boiling water in a large bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to sit for about 15 minutes.
2. While the bulgar is soaking, chop the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, parsley and mint.
3. Drain the bulgar and stir in the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, parsley and mint.
4. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil.
5. Pour the dressing over the vegetable mixture, tossing well to coat.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about one hour.
8. Serve and enjoy!

Tabbouleh Variations

1. Use green onions in place of the red onion if desired.
2. Add in one teaspoon of cumin for a robust flavor.
3. Add in a few cloves of minced garlic for additional flavor.
4. Serve over lettuce as a side dish alongside chicken.
5. Add 2 tomatoes, diced, and 4 green onions, chopped.
6. Soak the bulgur in tomato juice instead of water, for additional flavor.
7. Add 1 cucumber, chopped.
8. Serve topped with grilled shrimp or chicken

Enjoy!! =D