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Củ Chi tunnels

Củ Chi tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during the war with USA. True fact, there were about 65,000 people living in those tunnels for 20 YEARS!! They had kitchens, hospitals, they even made their weapons in the tunnels! Guess what those tunnels were super small in size, the reason being is that so the American army would not fit in any of those tunnels. Look at the picture on the left (I am SURE that I wouldn’t fit in that one )

I had actually tried to go into the tunnel (the one that I tried had been “resized” to fit a larger size of tourists) and even though it was resized, it is definitely not an easy life down there! It was hot, humid, hard to breath, and poisoness spiders, canterpides, snakes live there too. So you could imagine how HARD te Viet Cong life was! 20 years they had to live in the tunnels with fear and uncertainty everyday for 1 generation! Not knowing when the next bomb or poison is gonna come!

I’m seriously so so blessed to live in a peaceful country where life is so much easy!! Believe me.. Our lives can get hard, but seriously compared to what they had to go through. Our life is heaven on earth.

Tips: Feel free to give generous tips to the local army and make sure to go there in summer time.

Well travelers, please leave a comment or share this article with your friend by clicking the share icon at the bottom of the article!

Happy Travels,

Eliazar Putera

Click PHOTO-COLLECTIONS for more photos (these photos are in 2009 Vietnam album)

Popularity: 2% [?]

Wailing Wall, Jerusalem

Jerusalem oh Jerusalem! How I love the place and I hope I could pay another visit soon! One of the places that I came to visit in Jerusalem was the western wall or also known as wailing wall and I guess the name speaks for itself. Wailing wall is one of the many places that you could visit in Jerusalem! If you get an opportunity to go, don’t think twice… Just go!

Wailing wall is such an important religious site located in the Old City of Jerusalem which is located within the modern city of Jerusalem and surrounded by massive walls. If you have been to Jerusalem you know what I’m talking about. You could actually get closer to the wall where the Jews pray as long as you put a ‘kippah’ or a ‘yarmule’ and have that on your head while you are there. Once your are in, you could see the wall filled with a big quantity of papers. The papers are written with requests for God.

Wailing Wall, Jerusalem

Tips: I think you are allowed to take pictures there, (well I did not get told off by anyone there, so I’m assuming it is allowed! hehehe) so make sure you have your camera handy. Don’t forget to wear a kippah when you are inside the wailing wall and if you have a cross necklace on your neck, please hide it as it is offensive for them (I got told off since it was hanging out )

Well travelers, please leave a comment or share this article with your friend by clicking the share icon below!

Happy Travels,

Eliazar Putera

Click PHOTO-COLLECTIONS for more photos (these photos are in Jerusalem Album)

Popularity: 2% [?]

Orchard Road

If you love shopping, I think you would love Orchard Road. Orchard Road is one of the main roads in Singapore where malls are not hard to find! Girls would love this street (well I have to admit that I love it too he he he).

So you could buy things like clothes, electronics, food, accessories, perfumes, jeweleries etc! Two things I personally do not  like is that they are expensive and Orchard Road can get very crowded, I mean I’m talking traffic jam on foot walks. okay I am exaggerating now, but seriously it can get that crowded. Most tourists/travelers stay on Orchard Road as they are many 4 and 5-star hotels. I personally do not spend much time on Orchard Road during a holiday time.  But it is definitely something you need to experience when you are in Singapore.

The good thing  about Singapore is that, going from one place to another is very easy and very convenience because of it’s MRT

Orchard Road

Tips: Make sure you have comfy shoes and a bottle of water handy when you are in Singapore as you would do a lot of walk and it can get really warm there, otherwise just enjoy the time there.

Feel free to leave a comment or to share this article with friends!

Happy Travels,

Eliazar Putera

Click PHOTO-COLLECTIONS for more photos (this photo is in 2008 Singapore Album)

Popularity: 1% [?]

Newton Hawker Center

Located in Newton, Singapore just a walking distance away from  Newton MRT station, you could get pretty much any kinds of food that Singapore can offer. All kinds of seafood, satay, vegetables, and all kinds of dessert! I am getting hungry just by writing it, I tell you!!! So if you do not know what you are doing in Singapore and especially if you are hungry and wanting to check out what Singapore has to offer, get yourself to Newton Hawker Center and the easiest way to get there is by taking MRT.

Once you are there, look around freely choose the kind of food that you like! Although, the prices are a little bit more expensive compared to going to an average food court or hawker center, but Newton Hawker Center definitely is a great place to meet up with friends and just enjoy each other company over lunch or dinner. Enjoy your time while you are there, give enough time for your stomach to digest it

Newton Hawker Center

Tips: Perhaps to go there not during a holiday season as it would be hard to find yourself a spot otherwise. Make sure you don’t get overcharged by the food stall. As you might have heard the story of 4 Americans tourists that were charged S$491 for a meal at Tanglin’s Best BBQ Seafood. So make sure you are paying what you ordered. Otherwise, come hungry!

Feel free to leave a comment on this article!

Happy Travels,

Eliazar Putera

Click PHOTO-COLLECTIONS for more photos (this photo is in 2008 Singapore Album)

Popularity: 3% [?]

Mt. Sinai

A little bit of fact about Mt. Sinai.

Mt. Sinai is approximately 2,285 metres above the sea level and is located in Egypt (Asia part). If you read your Bible, this mountain is where Moses received the 10 Commandments from God. Nothing special with the mountain until you reached the top of the mountain! In fact, the mountain looks very dry and rocky and you see no grass or tress around it. But it is a nice experience nonetheless.

So here is my story – climbing mount Sinai was seriously one of the most awesome and hardest experiences in my travel life!

Why awesome? Experiencing sun rice from the top of Mt Sinai is just priceless! It is so beautiful and there are no words to describe it! It is definitely something that you need to experience when you go to Egypt.

Why hard? Although you can rent a camel to help you climb to the top and if you are lucky enough, you could get one of them! But since I went there during a holiday season, so there were no camels left to rent! sad moment! So I was left with one option which was to do it like the locals do… USE YOUR FEET! The first 2 hours were quite okay but then, when cold wind and tiredness hit your body (it was -13C on the top of the mountain and having a pair of converse shoes did not HELP at all! ) -Altogether, it took me 6 hours just to get me to the top of the mountain! (but it was all worth it – the view from the top will take your breath away!) Guess what? Once I got to the top of the mountain, my feet literary decided to fall asleep and I could not feel them anymore. It was seriously cold and I wore the wrong shoes! Then my brother and I decided to climb down as the thought of “you might not feel your feet any more” came into me, so we started climbing down the mountain and it only took us 3 hours to climb down!

Mt. Sinai

Tips: Please do not wear CONVERSE Shoes especially when it is during a cold season! – Have enough water during your time on the mountain. If you can get an opportunity to rent a camel – get one! seriously… hehehe but doing it like the locals do is also fun! Most importantly, do not go to Mt. Sinai without a camera… make sure you have one handy with you.

Again, please leave a comment if you find this article useful!

Happy Travels,

Eliazar Putera

Click PHOTO-COLLECTIONS for more photos (this photo is in Favourites and Mount Sinai Albums)

Popularity: 8% [?]

Food at Patong Beach

That is right! FOOD! One thing I like the most (well apart from sight -eeing) during my travel is to taste different kinds of food and Phuket, Thailand has seriously got some of the best food in the world! I mean I am talking about the taste and your pocket , forget about going t0 expensive restaurants, go where the locals eat! Get to know the people and their culture while you eat is such a great travel experience!

But there are also great restaurants along Patong Beach, I was so blessed that there was a food market along Patong Beach when I was there. So I got to taste so many different types of Thai Food! Oh my word that was awesome!! Owww… and you could get fake ray ban’s and fake rolex’s (my friend bought one when we were there and literary the watch broke a couple hours later – FOR REAL! )  So yeah, if you are interested … Go for it!

Tips: Rent a scooter or a motorbike (it will probably cost you about AU$5 a day) when you are in Phuket! Get a local map and start scooter-ing

Please leave a comment if you find this article useful and please share your Phuket, Thailand experience with me!

Happy Travels,

Eliazar Putera

Click PHOTO-COLLECTIONS for more photos (this photo is in 2008 Thailand Album)

Popularity: 12% [?]

Phi Phi Island

You gotta love Phi Phi Island!! Everything that is on the picture DOES exist! If you are planning to travel to Phuket, this island is definitely a MUST! I mean look at the pictures (these pictures were taken in December 2008 – not so long ago)! The island looks like one of those places that you can only see on a television, it is absolutely beautiful and everything is just gorgeous there!

Many of you probably know the movie titled “The Beach” starring Leonardo DiCaprio – guess what? It was filmed in this Island – sad fact though, You could not find any “weed” nor Leonardo DiCaprio himself there – yes I asked the tour guy, Steven DiCaprio. Sounds disappointing right? Jokes…

Back to the Island, The water is so clear, the rocks are so pretty, and more than anything – once you are there, you just want to relax,  lay your back, enjoy the sun, and just forget the busyness of life! Of course, if you are like me, you will be wandering around and take as many pictures as possible? I mean, this moment probably the first and the last in my life (if you know what I mean!) – but do not worry! I did relax and enjoy the sun! He he he…

Phi Phi Island

Tips: If you are a budget traveler (like me), you can check out Backpackers United for cheap hostels in Thailand. You could also book a Phi Phi Island tour with Simba Sea Trips – I am definitely happy with what I paid and the service that they provided (Snorkeling, pick-up and drop-off, and food are provided)! Seriously… and I AM NOT EVEN getting paid for mentioning this.

So yeah, please leave a comment if you find this article useful and please share your Phi Phi Island experience with me!

Happy Travels,

Eliazar Putera

Click PHOTO-COLLECTIONS for more photos (this photo is in 2008 Thailand Album)

Popularity: 2% [?]