When you mention about animals in Australia, they are kangaroo, koala, wombat, emu, platypus, wallaby and koala bear.

I stayed in Australia more than a year ten years ago and I never seen a live koala bear before. Last year, I finally saw one when I visited the Koala Conservation Centre in Philip Island.

Thousands or maybe millions flock to Philip Island for only one reason, the penguin watching. There are more just penguins on Philip Island and the Koala Conservation Centre is one of them.

My visit to the center was sponsored by Tourism Australia and Tourism Victoria as part of their Victoria Self Drive campaign. The whole trip was nine days in total and you can read our full adventure by clicking the picture below.

For those who have never seen a koala bear like me, this is the place you must visit if you are in Philip Island.

The Koala Conservation Centre is filled with information about koalas that all you need.

On top of the hard rock informations, I find the center is entertaining with interactive features. This is a semi educational tour for me. Thus, koala lives entirely on eucalypt leaves.

The koalas were at the Koala Board Walk, there was a guide explaining to us about the habitat and the characteristics of the cute bears.

Koala has a low metabolism rate so they can rest motionless from 16 to 18 hours a day. Don’t expect koalas are all around on the ground, most of them are sleeping on top of the tree.

I was told that tourists are not allowed to handle, carry or touch koalas anymore.

hus, I was told it is illegal to hold a koala in Victoria but I’ve heard other states like Queensland and NSW are okay with it (we are unable to confirm the legality of NSW and Queensland for koala handling). In addition, handling koala might cause them stress and they could get aggressive.

I got really lucky as a few of them came down to the walk way. Hence, they were just a few feet away from me.  The guide told us we were lucky as usually they will stay on top of trees.

Moments later the koala crawled back to the trees. With its claws, slowly it climbed to the top of the tree again. The koala was at the walk away for a brief moment only.

Later on as we were leaving the boardwalk we spotted wallabies. At first I thought they are kangaroos but they weren’t. Wallabies are cousins to kangaroos and they are smaller in size. These are wild wallabies and they were roaming freely in the park. That is one of the uniqueness of Australia, wild animals roaming freely almost everywhere (except cities).

Let us share some hard facts about the centre below.

About the Koala Conservation Centre

Two elevated treetop boardwalks allow superb close viewing of wild koalas in six hectares of Australian bushland. The Centre plays host to an important koala breeding program which is a vital part of the Centre’s overall population management.

Originally established in 1991, the Centre is dedicated to koala research and conservation and has played a vital role in ensuring there is a protected koala population on Phillip Island.

The Koala Conservation Centre is also home to a host of Australian wildlife – swamp wallabies, nocturnal brushtail and ringtail possums, echidnas and over 80 species of birds.

Koala Conservation Centre Philip Island Prices, Booking and Contact:

Adults (16yrs+) A$10.80

Children (4-15yrs) A$5.40

Australian Pensioner (ID req) A$7.55

Family 2A+2C) A$27.00

Phone bookings: +61 3 5951 2800

Website: www.Penguins.org.au

Want to save more on ticket prices? Why don’t you get the 3 Parks Pass which includes Churchill Island and Penguin Parade!

3 Parks Pass Prices:

Family (2A+2C) A$92.10

Adult (16yrs+) A$36.85 (Save A$6.40)

Child (4-15yrs) A$18.40

Pensioner
(Aus. ID req) A$25.70

Things to know before you go:

* You must specify the date of your Penguin Parade visit. Entry only valid on that date.

* Entry to koalas and Churchill Island valid for six months from specified date.

* 10 to 20 minute drive between venues.

* Koalas and Churchill Island open 10am (Christmas Day – 2pm). Closing times vary.

* Penguins arrive at sunset.

* Pre-booked tickets required during summer and public holidays. Click below to book.

* Sorry! NO FILMING OR PHOTOGRAPHY at Penguin Parade.

We hope everyone enjoy their visit to the Koala Conversation Centre Philip Island. You can also read more about our travelogue on Visit Victoria by clicking the picture below.

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Luck must be on our side. We have heard stories about Geisha in Kyoto and seeing them in public must be pure coincidence or else you have to pay a premium price for watch them performing. We had our lunch at one of the local restaurants and as we were walking towards the Yasaka Shrine (Yasaka Jinja 八坂神社), we saw a group of Geisha walking towards our directions.

A group of Geisha and Maiko walking hastily on our direction.
Our Japanese friend, Mariko was like telling us, “Gesha!!”

We then grabbed our cameras and started snapping pictures.

The leader is a Geisha and the followers are Maiko according to our Japanese friend.
The whole transition was like five to ten seconds. Trust me, they walked really fast.

A pretty looking Geisha walked past me, if I rode a bicycle I would crashed like the scene of “Memoirs of the Geisha”.
One of them actually winked at me!

Mariko then told us that the ladies at the back are actually called Maiko, apprentice of Geisha. Hence, the girls needed to be Maiko first then later on they will be eventually Geisha.

Of course there are outlets where you pay to see them and have their entertainment but that will be costly.

Geisha is popularized to the world a few years ago with the movie of “Memoirs of the Geisha”.

In Gion Kyoto, there are a few tourist attractions that cannot be missed. They are the Yasaka Shrine, Yasaka Pagoda (Hokanji) and Kiyomizu-Dera temple.

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What will you do when you are in Osaka which is just a few kilometres away from the world famous beef producing city Kobe? Of course we will go there and try out their infamous Kobe beef.

A deer with the backdrop of the gate entrance of Todaiji Temple in Nara.
We were travelling to the deer city of Nara on the second day of our trip to Kansai Japan and we decided to have our dinner in Kobe. This was our first time traveling in Japan and we were on our own. We relied on the information we researched from the Internet and the station names to travel around within Kansai.

For the best and cheapest way to travel around in Kansai, we recommend the Kansai Thru Pass or also known as Kansai Surutto Pass. A three day pass cost only 5,000 Yen (RM 200 / US$ 67) and you can travel to most places in Kansai with most busses, trains and subways except JR trains. Please do ask the availability of the usage of the pass before you travel around. For our traveling experiences in Kobe, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka, we had no problem using unlimited train, subway and bus rides.

Changing trains or subway trains are common for travelers in Kansai Japan.
For our crazy idea to have Kobe beef for dinner, we travelled from Nara to Kobe via train with two stops (we will blog in details later on tips to take train from Nara to Kobe) with a journey of one and half hour. We got our route information via the Tourist Information Center at Nara (Kintetsu) Train Station.

To make our journey more interesting, our trip to Kobe was unplanned so we had no idea where to get the best Kobe beef. With the help of a few restaurants and bars, we were recommended to go to大井肉店.

It was 8pm and the temperature was around 5 degree Celsius and we were cold and hungry. We managed to find the restaurant based on the indications (he tried to explain in English but we didn’t understand what he was saying) by the bar owner.

The 大井肉店 restaurant, please check out the map below or print it out with you want to go there.

We went to the fourth floor where they served the best steak in city and probably in the world. The restaurant owns the whole building but only the fourth and fifth floors used as restaurants.

The interior looks like a classic Western-like restaurant with teppanyaki grill on each table.

Menu at 大井肉店
We were given the menu to order and it was not cheap. A 200 gram of Kobe Beef cost around 15,000 Yen ( RM 600 / US$ 200) per set.  We ordered two sets of 200 gram of Kobe Beef and they were not that pleasant when we wanted to share it among ourselves, there were four of us.

Check out the marble-like texture of the meat.
We were introduced to our chef as he showed us the 400 gram sirloin Kobe Beef before he cooked it. You can see the details of the marbling texture of the meat. Only Kobe beef and Wagyu beef have such texture on their meat. On the other note, we managed to start a conversation with him and he told us that he was humbled to have us as his guests when I told him that we are Malaysians.

He apologized to us as he had to share the set for us as I think we broke their tradition of no food sharing in this restaurant. He told us that 大井肉店 was established in 1871 as a beef seller. The restaurant has now a history of 141 years and counting!

He started off with toasting the bread. We thought it was the appetizer but it was not. The bread was lightly toasted with butter and served onto our plate but the chef told us to wait.

The appetizer was a small piece of beef quiche.

Next was a fresh bowl of salad. The greens were interestingly topped with sesame seed and sesame oil. The sesame oil can be easily purchased in Japanese supermarket such as Isetan or Jusco in Malaysia.

Then we have the pan fried vegetables of pumpkin, mushroom, red pepper, radish and konnyaku (light green).


Konnyaku is a healthy Japanese food with jelly-like texture. We were surprised that they pan fried the konnyaku, this was our first time having a pan fried konnyaku.

Finally, the chef brought out the beef again to cook. The chef asked us how we wanted our beef cooked. We all agreed for medium rare. Look at how the meat sizzles!

Firstly, he cut off the fats of the beef and he put it aside.

Then, he cut the beef to a few strips and he pan fried it (teppanyaki style).

The chef slowly awaits the beef to be cooked.

He let it cooked for a few minutes and to our amazement, he cut it to cube sizes and served it to us.

The beef was cooked up to our expectation.

He served the cube-size beef on top of the toasted bread.

That was our first time having beef with a toasted bread!

That wasn’t over. The excessive beef fats he cut earlier on was then used to cook with bean sprout (taugeh) and spring onion.

Like the usual teppanyaki, he pan fried the bean sprout and the beef together and served it thin slices of fried garlic.

After the long wait, I wanted to eat the toasted bread first but the chef said the bread must be eaten last! Slowly, we put the beef into our mouth. The meat melts in the mouth and the taste warmth my heart. We ate the beef without any seasoning to enjoy the juiciness of the meat.  Legend says that the taste of having Kobe beef is similar of flying. Hence, we roughly understand the meaning of the flying. The meat was so soft and tender and it melted in the mouth. The proper word for the experience should be “heavenly”. They served a small glass of red wine to pair it with the beef but we ordered additional Asahi beef for the evening.

The beef teppanyaki with bean sprout was also a class of its own. The bean sprout pan fried to perfection and coated with the fragrant beef oil. However we do prefer our own Malaysian Ipoh’s bean sprout as the Japanese bean sprout was softer and smaller in size.

For the toasted bread, they brought us a very light cream cheese. As we tasted the bread, we can taste hints of butter, the cream cheese and the taste of the Kobe beef. The chef purposely put the beef on top of the bread to let additional beef oil sunk into the bread. That was really smart.

There will be no happy ending without a cup of aromatic hot coffee.

We travelled one and half hour from Nara to Kobe for the best beef in the world and we accomplished it. Although it was expensive but the experience and the taste of it will remained in our heart and memory forever. This trip was all about experiencing Japan and we enjoyed it!

大井肉店 Address, Map and Contact:

No. 2, No. 5, 7-chome, Chuo-ku Kobe, Hyogo 元町通 〒 650-0022

Kobe, 7-2-5 TEL078 元町通 〒 650-0022-351-1011 / FAX078-351-5494 (Japanese)

Tel: 078-351-1011

http://www.oi-nikuten.co.jp (Japanese)

How to get to大井肉店:

5 minutes walk from Hanshin Kobe Nishimoto,  1 minute walk from  JR Station (Motomachi Shopping Street directions)

View 大井肉店 Famous Kobe Beef in a larger map

If there is Akihabara in Tokyo, then there is Den Den Town in Osaka. The actual name of the place is called Nipponbashi and it is located near (walking distance) Namba and the busy Dotonburi.  Hence, if you are looking for manga, toys (such as Transformers, Gundam, Macross, Gashapons and Figurines including the sexy ones) and also cosplay items, Den Den Town is the best place for you.

Usual scene of Den Den Town
How to go to Nipponbashi via train and Subway:

There is no secret the cheapest transportation in Osaka is via train or subway. Walking is the preferred choice if you near the area but train or subway is always the best.

If you are traveling in Osaka city by itself, we recommend you to take the daily pass ticket which you can purchase at the train or subway station.

The options are as follows:

* Kintetsu Namba Line

* Osaka Municipal Subway (Nipponbashi Station)

o Sakaisuji Line (K17)

o Sennichimae Line (S17)

Since we took the Sennichimae Line from Namba station, we could offer some tips on how to get there from Nipponbashi Station (Sennichimae Line).

Get off at Nipponbashi line via Sennichimae Line and look for Exit 5.

After exiting on Exit 5 turn right and keep on walking until you reach Den Den Town. It should be a 5 min walk.

There are dozens of shops in Den Den Town but we were told that it is much smaller than Akihibara of Tokyo. Thus, we won’t want to compare since this is the best otaku place in Osaka. Our motive was to enjoy and to shop for our favourite collector items!

Where to get Gundam in Den Den Town Nipponbashi Osaka

Looking for your favourite old or new Gundam, check out the recommended toy shop below as how we experienced it.

Kids Land

The two storey toy shop is the dreamland for Gundam lovers. They have sale on old item and clear stock items. Sadly we cannot take pictures within any toy shops in Den Den Town. They also offer other toys but they have the most Gundam.

Opening Hours:

11 am to 8 pm.

Hobby Shop (next to HeroGangu.com)

This seven storey toy shop sells mostly new items and you can hunt your toys here. There is a lift and a directory on the toys category on each floor.

Some of the display Macross toys.

Anime figurines are so easy to find here.

The ground floor offers collector items on sale on their respective spaces in transparent boxes. Collectors will rent the boxes and put their items on sale. Customers will come and purchase their item and the sales will go back to the collector with commission taken. This is an interesting rental and selling concept of toys also available in Akihabara.

Opening Hours:

11 am to 8 pm

Where to get Transformers in Den Den Town Nipponbashi Osaka

We are hardcore fan of vintage Transformers and we have been collecting it for years. We have dozens of vintage Transformers toys in our toy room and we were looking to add more to our collections in Den Den Town. Please check out the recommended toy shops as how we experienced it.

Jungle Hobby Shop

This two storey toy shop is a must visit for Transformers collectors. As most toy shops don’t allow any photography, we took the risk of taking photos for the sake of our readers. Jungle Hobby Shop sells new and vintage toys which is more appealing to us.

Car Robots anyone?

Look at the vintage Transformers G1!!

Can you spot Transformers Browning and Transformers G1 Trypticon!!

We bought a few vintage Transformers toys here as we thought it is cheaper than the other shops. Look for the Italian guy in the shop, he can speak fluent English. Trust us, he can explain much more on the condition and the description of the toys. The Transformers section is on the Ground Floor.

Opening Hours:

11 am to 7 pm

HeroGangu

We were recommended here by transformers blog and we were slightly disappointed by the vintage Transformers stock here. Don’t get us wrong, the two storey toy shop was the most popular toy shops in general in Den Den Town. HeroGangu offer both new and vintage toys selections. However most of the vintage Transformers toys are as expensive as on eBay.com.

Limited Edition Transformers G1 Green Convoy, I was caught taking pictures here so no more pictures of this shop.
They had some of the unique TF toys but the pricing kept us away. However, they also offer other interesting toys that make this toy shop a worth to visit and a mention. The Transformers section is on the First Floor.

Opening Hours:

12pm (noon) to 7 pm

Other toy shops worth to visit in Den Den Town

Get’s 5

This rental and selling toy shop is located at the back of Kids Land, please print the picture and look for the shop. Most of the address printed on their business card is on Japanese so do print out the pictures and ask around. Most Japanese are friendly and some will actually bring you there.

Sexy figurines!!

This is also another collectors rental items on sale. Limited edition or vintage toys can be found here depends on your luck!

Opening Hours:

11 am to 8 pm

There are also dozens of other toy shops that we didn’t venture and promote in Den Den Town. We hope that if you are in Den Den Town, please feedback to us with more tips so we can share it here. Our motive for this blogpost is to create awareness for Den Den Town Nipponbashi as the Otaku haven in Osaka. We ourselves are avid vintage Transformers collectors for years and our visit to Den Den Town had added a few more vintage toys to our collections. We hope with this information, we can help other “otaku” lovers and toys collectors to get their dream toys in Osaka.

The above tips on toy shops in Den Den Town are based on our experience in Den Den Town.

We will be posting other interesting finds in Den Den Town soon. Thank you for reading, we hope you enjoy the tips and comments are always welcomed!

HELP NEEDED!!

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We were supposed to backpack last March but due to the unforeseen circumstances, we cancelled our trip. Then we got a really great deal with AirAsiaGo.com and we are now in Osaka Japan. We flew to Japan via AirAsiaX (our first time experience too).

We got a very strategic hotel via the package and we bought the Kansai Thru Pass in the airport. We bought the three day passes which allowed us to travel within Kansai area with designated trains and buses.

We always thought that traveling in Japan is troublesome but in actual fact that is not always the case. Today, we travelled to Nara via Kintetsu train line by ourselves. Thus, it was easier than we expected.

Nara is one of the most unique cities we have visited. The city is inhabited by many wild deer. The deer were everywhere. Though most of them are tamed but they are still wild animals and there is still a small possibility that they might be aggressive. However, we enjoyed their presence.

We will be in Japan until this weekend and we will update more travel tips and how to use the Kansai Thru Pass in details. We will be traveling to Kyoto tomorrow. It is late here and we will update more next week. Thank you for reading!

Last month I was invited to visit Perlis by Santai travel magazine and Tourism Malaysia Perlis. It was my first time venturing the northernmost state in Peninsula Malaysia. While many wonder what do the smallest state in Malaysia offers, there are more than I expected.

 

One of the highlights of Perlis or Kuala Perlis in particular is the newly built Al-Hussain Floating Mosque. Kuala Perlis is a busy getaway for tourists heading to the popular island of Langkawi added Al-Hussain Floating Mosque as the new tourist attractions.

The mosque, with its prayer hall extending out to sea, was built at a cost of about RM12 million through the sponsorship of businessman Tan Sri Mohd Ariffin Yusof and his family.

The twin minarets of the mosque would light up in different colours during the dawn and night prayer times, and guide fishermen at sea on the times for prayer. Al-Hussain Floating Mosque is the 104th mosque in Perlis and It is considered unique because it is the first floating mosque to be built in the state.

 The mosque has modern tropical resort features and is capable of accommodating 1,000 people at any one time. It is also decorated with distinctive features like twin hexagon minarets at 7.1 metres, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the world. – New Straits Times Malaysia

We did not enter the mosque as we ran late for our dinner with the tourism board. However the beauty of the mosque at night is undeniable at the busy street of Kuala Perlis.

Do stop by to have a glimpse or try to capture the best photo of the floating mosque as the sun sank behind the mosque. Once again, thank you Santai Travel Magazine and Tourism Malaysia Perlis for the invitation.

This month Neroteca will having NEROTECA’S “MEATILICOUS” JANUARY OFFERS A SELECTION OFITALY’S BEST MEATS & WINES for Chinese New Year and the Year of Dragon.

In celebration of Chinese New Year and the 2012 auspicious Year of the Dragon, Neroteca is offering a range of Italian meat delights, with authentic flavors of lamb, pork and beef based cuisines.

We visited Neroteca once in 2008. We celebrated a friend’s birthday there and we enjoyed our dinner. After three years, we revisited Neroteca for their Neroteca Meatilicous Chinese New Year 2012 menu.

Gorgeous Rachel Lai giving the welcome speech
So what do we expect for this menu? It will be a savoury 7-course meal aims to please meat enthusiasts, where each dish is creatively designed and paired with selective prosecco and wine. Taste the innovative creations of Chef Lorenso who has mastered the art of rustic Italian cooking from the best chefs from Italy.

Chef Lorenso giving his speech and demo on steak tartare
From handmade pasta to the fresh bread baked daily, his quest for excellence in food preparation demands perfection and authenticity in Italian culinary offerings.

We started with the Starter with Selection of cold cuts which include Prosciutto di Parma, San Danielle, calabra piccente and mortadella.

The Prosciutto di Parma was memorable as I had lots of them when I was traveling in Patagonia Argentina two years ago. This was equally tasty and good.

Steak Tartare using the Marinated Angus steak was next. Steak tartare is a meat dish made from finely chopped or minced raw marinated Angus beef combined with a combination of ingredients. Not many people enjoy Steak Tartare because it taste bad but just that it did not suit your taste palette. I enjoyed it.

Prosecco di prosecco Conte Neri

For the Entrée, we had Pappardelle Neroteca which was the Pappardelle pasta with wild boar ragout. The handmade Pappardelle pasta was a great combination for the wild boar ragout and it tasted so heavenly. This is high recommended.

Valpolicella DOC Corte Giara goes very well with the suckling pig

Stozzapretti Nduja, the Handmade curl pasta cooked with rare salami was equally good but I preferred the Pappardelle pasta with wild boar ragout.

For the Main Course, we had Porchetta which was the Deboned suckling pig stuffed with sausage and capsicum.

Sirloin Tagliata was the Grilled sliced beef sirloin top with sautéed spinach and potatoes. The beef was well cooked and you can spot from the colour of it.

Lastly, we had the Grilled Lamb Rack which they used the New Zealand lamb Rack served with garden salad and Balsamic reduction sauce. This was juicy and grilled to perfection.

Costa di Nugola Syrah Toscana

Neroteca is a cosy Italian restaurant serving up rustic and authentic style Italian food that is truly close to home-cooked wholesome food.

Located at Bukit Ceylon, Neroteca simply exudes a truly Italian dining experience with a deli that makes you feel like you are dining somewhere in Italy! Everyone who dines at Neroteca will just love its ambiance for its truly captivating charm which evokes the authentic feel of Italy.

Neroteca’s dining experience just spells great home-style Italian cuisine that leaves you wanting for more.  A lot of attention and detail is given to food preparation and to the choosing of the freshest of products, combining rustic, home-made dishes with the modern cuisine accomplishments.

All the sumptuous recipes are the wonderfully innovative creations of Sous Chef Lorenso who has learnt from the best. From hand – made pasta to the fresh bread baked daily, this quest for excellence in food preparation demands perfection and authenticity in Italian culinary offerings.

If you are looking forward for a different and unique Chinese New Year feast, you can try this. The menu is unabashedly traditional yet refreshingly distinctive without the artifices of ‘fusion’. Through its authentic dishes and warm welcoming ambiance, Neroteca provides a very unique Italian cultural dining experience.

About Neroteca

Serving up the best in rustic and authentic home-cooked Italian food, Neroteca is a non-halal rustic restaurant specialising in authentic Italian dishes with pork. A long, tall, narrow glass box, bright lights, wall-to-wall wine, pasta and sauces, with hanging salamis and hams, it hosts a unique friendly atmosphere with a quaint ambiance. Neroteca packs in people, energy and great flavours. There is nowhere like Neroteca anywhere in the city.

Outside Catering & Private Parties

Nerotecais able to provide outside catering for parties and functions of up to 200 people. You can experience Nero class in the comfort of your own home, with chef’s brilliant cooking up of sumptuous cuisine to thrill your intimate dinner party.

Please contact alex@neroteca.com if you would like to hire all or part of Neroteca for a private occasion.

Neroteca Restaurant Address and Contact:

Ground Floor, The Somerset,

8Lorong Ceylon,50250 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-20700530/ Fax: 03-20702530.

Email: info@neroteca.com

Opening hours:

11.30am to 11.30pm (Daily)

ABOUT THE NERO GROUP

The Nero Group has grown into one of the most recognised and well respected restaurant groups in Malaysia, known for professionalism, high standards and exceptional quality. The group currently consists of three restaurants. Nerovivo is perhaps the best known, celebrating its sixth anniversary this year. Neroteca is our non-halal restaurant, specialising in Italian dishes with pork, importing meats and cheeses from Italy every week. Nerofico in Damansara Heights, combines trademark Nero Italian food with music – it is now one of the city’s best live jazz venues.

Towards the end of 2010, management of the Nero Group was moved to The Island Group Hospitality Ltd., a Hong Kong-based hospitality management company with extensive experience in restaurant and hospitality leadership.

The Nero Group continues to thrive, and with its passion for excellent food and wine and dedication to providing a remarkable dining experience, remains a dynamic force on the KL restaurant scene.

A few years ago, we heard about an ambitious project to build a whole shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur. The location is the ever popular wholesale area of San Peng. The shopping is called Kenanga Wholesale City and it has opened for more than two months. It is the first wholesale shopping mall in Malaysia and set to rival Bangkok’s Platinum Fashion Mall.

We were driving near Jalan Loke Yew and we saw the signs of Kenanga Wholesale City. We thought why not going there for a look since we haven’t buy any clothes for Chinese New Year. The mall is just located behind Tsun Jin High School and it looks huge as we saw it from far.

Parking is not an issue with basement parking and dedicated nine floors of parking spaces from level 8 to level 17! It was quite packed today as we had to park at level 12.

We took a lift down and the first impression is the interior has the similarity of Platinum Fashion Mall. Even the mall just opened for two months, almost more than 50% of the shops have already opened.

There are 800 shops to be fully opened this year and 10 levels of shopping experiences.

Some of the dresses at Kenanga Wholesale City
The directory of Kenanga Wholesale City mall as below:

Level LG:  Ladies Fashion, Men’s Wear, Shoes, Banks and Money Changer

Level G: Ladies Fashion, Men’s Wear, Shoes

Level 1: Ladies Fashion

Level 2: Ladies Fashion

Level 3: Ladies Fashion, Men’s Wear, Kids Wear, Sports Wear

Level 3A: Baju Kurung, Kids Wear, Traditional Wear, Restaurants

Level 5: Baju Kurung, Kids Wear, Traditional Wear, Bazaar

Level 6: Fashion Accessories, Handbag, Leather Goods

Level 7: Fashion Accessories, Handbag, Non-Halal Food Court

Level 15: Factory Outlets, Halal Food Court, Exhibition Area

Shirts and apparels starts from RM 2 and above. Most of the T-Shirts are selling at RM 10 and above.

There are some promotions going on such as Buy 5 Free 1, Buy 10 Free 1 and the funniest Buy 10 Get One Lucky Draw. We didn’t ask what the prize was as we were not interested in that shop.

For those who are looking for bridesmaids dresses, we saw a few boutiques that might solve your problems.

The handbag level at Kenanga Wholesale City…
There are a few boutiques also selling reasonable Chinese Cheongsam, Baju Kurung and other traditional dresses.

The Non-Halal Food Court at Level 7.
Overall, they have almost everything a shopper wants. There is also a Halal and Non-Halal food court.

Rachel looking at some of the accessories…

The shopping complex is smaller than I expected but with 800 shops, you can spend a whole day there. Since it is a wholesale shopping center, most of the items are reasonable priced and bargain items. Don’t be silly and expect to get branded goods here. Thus, for those who are looking for bargain new year clothes, Kenanga Wholesale City is the answer.

How to go to Kenanga Wholesale City:

By Road

Kenanga Wholesale City is accessible from Jalan Hang Tuah and Jalan Loke Yew. From Jalan Hang Tuah towards Jalan Loke Yew direction, you can make a left turn to Jalan Kenanga, after the Hang Tuah LRT station.

From Jalan Loke Yew towards Jalan Cheras direction, you can make a left turn to Jalan San Peng, after Tsun Jin High School. Follow by another left turn to Jalan Gelugor at the traffic light.

By LRT

From Putra line (Kelana Jaya[KJ24] or Terminal Putra Gombak[KJ1]), interchange at Masjid Jamek[KJ13] to STAR line, disembark at Hang Tuah LRT station[ST3].

For STAR line route, disembark at Hang Tuah LRT station[ST3].

By Monorail

For Monorail route, disembark at Hang Tuah Monorail station[MR4].

By Bus

Rapid KL[B112],[U423].

A 5 minutes walking distance from Hang Tuah Rail and Bus station to Kenanga Wholesale City.

Kenanga Wholesale City Address, Contact and Map:

No. 8.01, Kompleks Kenanga Wholesale City,

Jalan Gelugor, Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-92218081

Website: http://www.kenangacity.com.my

View Kenanga Wholesale City Shopping Center in a larger map

How to apply Japan Visa in Malaysia? With low fares now from Air AsiaX and they are flying to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and Osaka’s Kansai Airport a few times a week from Kuala Lumpur, there are more Malaysians now traveling to Japan either with travel companies or by themselves.

We were supposed to backpack in Japan this March. However, due to the natural disasters which happened just a few days before our trip, we had to call it off. Hence, we are planning to go again next year. Visiting Japan is our main objective next year and we would love to go backpacking.

Do we need a Japan Visa to travel to Japan? In actual we don’t need one but due to many past incidents of Malaysians overstaying and abusing the privilege, it is best that we have one. It is FREE of Charge anyways.

Since 1993, Malaysian nationals are strongly encouraged to obtain a visa prior to entering into Japan.

The visa-exemption arrangements between Japan and Malaysia have allowed Malaysian nationals who meet relevant conditions can enter into Japan without a visa for a period of stay not exceeding three(3) consecutive months.

However, in order to cope with the large number of Malaysians who overstay in Japan and work illegally, the Government of Japan decided to encourage Malaysian nationals to obtain visa prior to entry into Japan in order to ensure smooth entry. – Embassy of Japan, Malaysia

Requirements as below:

HOLIDAY AND TRANSIT in Japan

1.            Original Malaysia passport

2.            One (1) visa application form (downloadable) and print it and filled it up.

3.            One (1) photo (4.5cm x 4.5cm) with white background which is taken within 6 month from the visa application and must be pasted on the application form (It is the same format / dimension with US Visa requirement)

4.            IItinerary in Japan (downloadable) and for transit purpose, copy of visa to the main destination (USA, CANADA, etc)

5.            Employment certificate stating your position, department in the company and length of service(using the company letterhead). You can also ask your HR (Human Resource department) to state how long you have been working there and also state how long will be your leave to Japan. Only ORIGINAL COPY of Company Leave Letter is accepted (with Company Letter Head).

*If you are a sole proprietor/partner/owner of the company, you need to submit a copy of  your business registration

*For those who are not working: a self explanatory letter stating how expenses will be borne, name and relationship of person(s) accompanying (if any)

6.            Personal savings, latest current account statement, fixed deposit, Tabung Haji or Amanah Saham Berhad (ASB) (original certified true copy by the bank) (need to show the applicant’s name as the account owner, account number and current balance). If you didn’t stamp your statement, they will ask you to go back to do so with your respective banks. Don’t waste time and chances, just go to your bank and Certified True Copy it!

*You must have at least RM 6000 in your bank account for Japan Visa approval. This is an unofficial requirement for the approval, if you have more than RM 6000 then its better.*

7.            Copy of marriage certificate (spouse) or birth certificate (children) to show proof of relationship between the main applicant and the person(s) accompanying.

If your wife is working, she does not need to show her financial records but she needs to present her original Company Leave Letter.

NOTES

1.    Please arrange all the documents according to the sequence. Documents submitted will not be returned.

2.    All photocopies must be on A4 size paper.

3.    Collection of passport will be three (3) working days for Malaysian (subject to approval).

4.    It is better to apply the VISA in the morning as there will be two counters handling visa applications, in the afternoon only one counter will be opened for visa application as the other one is closed for Passport collection.

5.   Lunch time is 12.00pm to 2.00pm, so they are closed at that time. I was caught unaware of it and wasted my time going there.

6.   No mobile phones and cameras are allowed to bring it. You have to deposit them at the security guard house.

7.   Go to the door on the right once you enter the Embassy and please take a number for Visa Application and wait for your turn.

8.   For Passport collection, just go to the end counter and pass them the receipts. You are not required to take any numbers.

9. Visa is only valid for 3 months so please plan your application wisely.

*THE EMBASSY OF JAPAN HAS THE RIGHT TO REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS OR CALL THEAPPLICANT FOR AN INTERVIEW*  - Sources from Embassy of Japan, Malaysia

For Other Purposes Visiting Japan please visit Embassy of Japan Malaysia Official Website.

The Embassy of Japan is directly opposite Restaurant Bombay Palace at Persiaran Stonor. There are no parking bays available there. The building is white in colour it is just beside the Jalan Tun Razak and opposite of the US Embassy.

EMBASSY OF JAPAN Address and Contact:

CONSULAR SECTION

11, PERSIARAN STONOR

OFF JALAN TUN RAZAK

50450 KUALA LUMPUR

http://www.my.emb-japan.go.jp/

OFFICE HOURS

MONDAY – FRIDAY

8.30 a.m. – 12.00 noon

2.00 p.m. – 4.00 p.m.

TEL: 603-2177 2600

FAX: 603-2143 1739

EMAIL: ryo@kl.mofa.go.jp

Last week, I joined local travel magazine Majalah Santai to visit Perlis, the northernmost state in Peninsula Malaysia. Sponsored by Tourism Malaysia Perlis, I stayed in Perlis for 3 days 2 nights.

On the second day and on the way to Perlis State Park (Taman Negeri Perlis) we passed by a quiet town by the name of Kaki Bukit 加基武吉. As we were told by our tour guide, Mr. Ron this town used to be a mining town. You can tell with a few rows of shops and houses populated by Chinese. I noticed the design and the architecture of the shops and houses are totally different than the other towns in Perlis.

A typical old Chinese shop in Kaki Bukit.

Gua Wang Burma is one of the popular tourist attractions near Kaki Bukit

Back in the old days, most these Chinese were tin miners. Tin mining used to be the main income for Malaysia until most of them ceased operations in the recent decades. Most of the tin miners remained in Kaki Bukit until today.

Kaki Bukit is located 16 miles north of the state capital, Kangar and a few miles away from Padang Besar, the border of Thailand and Malaysia.

It is only a few minutes of driving from Kaki Bukit 加基武吉to Perlis State Park (Taman Negeri Perlis).