First of all, if you are staying somewhere nearby the Baiyoke Sky/First House/First Hotel there’s a backlane just right behind Baiyoke it’s a Morning Market convert to Night Market filled with choices of food, clothes and etc. You can get local delicacies over here. The other place you wont miss would be the Platinum Centre (this place is still quite new) the food court on the top floor had spread of local and internation cuisines. Thumbs up for most of the selection there! Same area, where you can easily locate the Big C shopping centre (very much like the hypermarket, Carrefour) they do have great spread of all sort of junk foods available. I had my great time strolling with the trolley over there just like a kid! They were much more cheaper compare to my country. (it’s tax free, and plus you could accumulate the receipt to refund on VAT – if you purchase A LOT) I tried out the Jap ‘Fast Food’ Restaurant, Yayoi over there, priced well and food was great!

Moving further, to MBK Centre (Mah Boon Krong), another great place for shoppers! For guy who would like to get office wear this would be a great place, full set of a 2 piece suite only at +-USD50. Good quality and great cuttings! Please visit the food court, they are known for best beef stewed. I didn’t have time to place a visit but I am sure to go when I visit them again!

If you visit Pat Phong, there’s a cafe at the end of the night market – Cafe Kaldi is a must try. They have cheap and the best Matcha blend I’d ever tried!

Any other suggestions on what you can find to fill your little tummy! Post it here!

Bangkok Travel Guide

Traveling is memorable, it sticks to your mind for a long time, and follows you through the rest of your life. That is how strong a memory could last. And while these traveling memories are still clear and in your mind, how about sharing it with everyone who are interested to hear about it.

We know that there are many out there eager to hear about your travel stories, not only giving good credits for the destination you enjoyed, also giving the opportunity for many of us to experience the joy that you took pleasure in.

Please do drop us your travel stories at support@a4trip.com, probably along with a picture or two, and allow your story to enlighten many of us. You might just make someone’s day.

Agus Sobari and Sarwo, two traders in Jatinegara market, Jakarta, Indonesia were arrested in a joint raid by the Forestry department, ProFauna Indonesia, the Institute of Animal Advocacy (LASA) and the International Animal Rescue (IAR) last February 3rd 2008, ( http://www.profauna.org/profaunanews/2008news/jatinegara-jkt.html ) and were sentenced to 20 months and 19 months imprisonment respectively, by the Magistrates Court in Jakarta on July 3rd 2008, for selling protected species. Both were charged under the 1990 wildlife law that carried a sentence of up to one million rupiah fine (about US $110).

Sobari pleaded guilty to illegally selling a Leopard cat (Felis bengalensis), four slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang), two Malayan porcupines (Hystrix brachyura), and an otter civet (Cynogale bennetti). Likewise, Sarwo was convicted of trading one leopard cat, four slow lorises, and two Black-winged kites (Elanus caeruleus).

The presiding judge, Siswandriyono, advised the traders, “People should make money in sustainable manners. Just because of the need to feed the family, one can trigger the cause of biodiversity loss by trading endangered animals.”

PROFAUNA’S JAVAN LANGUR CENTER (JLC)

ProFauna Indonesia is to set up a Javan Langur Centre (JLC) in a near future. This centre would offer facilities for species recovery program including rescue, rehabilitation and re-introduction into the wild. In addition, it would support the research on the species, the habitat analysis, the post release monitoring and the population in its natural habitat, etc.

Ebony leaf monkey or Javan langur (Trachypithecus auratus), which has become the logo of ProFauna Indonesia, is classified as endangered species (EN B1+2ab) in the IUCN red list 2007. This monkey is endemic species to Java and Bali Islands. Despite of its legal status as protected species, the population is threatened by poaching for trade.

The Indonesian wildlife law, the 1990 legislation concerning the Natural Resource and Ecosystem Conservations states that the keeping and trading of protected species including its body part is prohibited. Perpetrators will receive jail sentence up to five years and a fine up to Rupiah 100 million.

With the experience in releasing rehabilitated Javan langurs back into the wild, ProFauna is going to specialize in Javan langurs through its Javan Langur Center (JLC).

Restaurant Pak Putra

By chance, I hear my boss say Melaka have serving very famous Tandoori chicken and other Pakistani cuisine is very yummy. So, I decided to give it a try one day with my family.

The Tandoori chicken, Naan, and other Pakistani cuisine have gotten the authentic taste and style. For personally, I especially love the cheese Naan, Tandoori chicken and their curry.On the whole, I think this is the best Tandoori chicken restaurant in Malacca which worth a try when you visit Jonker Street on Friday, Saturday or Sunday night, try to find out this restaurant and have a nice supper before return to your home or hotel.

The restaurant located in Kota Laksamana along the main road in Taman Laksamana. So far, I’m quite sure most of the Malaccan people know where to get best chicken tandoori and naan. As far as I know that restaurant operation business hour is until 2a.m.

Learn more about Malacca

This month, we proudly launched our first translated version of a4trip.com website in Basque and Vietnamese. You can see the full list of languages, or change your language settings, from the language selector in the header on any page.

Our goal is to support a4trip.com in 24 languages or more. With this goal, we’ve received response from several of our a4friends who want to help translate a4trip.com into their native languages. The most important factor in all of this has been the hardworking communities that spend their time getting a4trip.com ready to be used in every language across the world. Without them, this process would be much more difficult. We’re working hard to continue to open even more languages for translation, so stay tuned.

In conjunction with Beijing 2008 Olympics, our Beijing travel guidebook is coming soon! Beijing is a metropolis situated in northern China. As the nation’s capital, it’s recognized as a political, educational, economic and cultural center. Although it’s now a vibrantly modern city, its history dates back thousands of years. As such, the city possesses an incredible number of historical and cultural attractions, as well as national treasures.

Big credits go to our team that worked so hard to complete this guide book. Inside this Beijing guidebook, you will find restaurants, accommodations, shopping centers, food that you don’t want to miss, and some useful travel tips. What’s more, it also feature local culture and language guide that promise you to communicate easily with the friendly locals.

This is the title that catches my eyes when i was browsing through my RSS feed this evening. Man fined RM 4,000 for possessing 31 pangolins and not only that, but hurting them. It’s outrageous!

Photo credit: Sukree Sukplang

Judging from what has been done and the actions taken, i seriously think that the authorities should revise Wildlife Protection Act. “Heavy penalty should be imposed as a deterrent to others.” This is what has been written in the local news article. Ironically, it’s nothing near to the word ‘Heavy penalty’. There are indeed still alot more to work on in protecting the wild life.

Check out the news article here.

After the official declaration of The New 7 Wonders in Lisbon last year, you are now given chance to participate in the second campaign, vote for The New 7 Wonders of Nature.

Among the top 10 candidates, Philippines has 4 of them. These candidates including:

Tubbataha Reef
Atoll coral reef in the Sulu Sea which is composed of two atolls, North and South Reefs. There are over a thousand species including those are endangered can be found here.

The Chocolate Hills
An unusual geological formation in Bohol. Spreading over an area of more than 50 square kilometers, the 1,200 hills of about the same size are covered in green grass. However, the hills will turn brown during the dry season, hence called The Chocolate Hills.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park
Located in Palawan and features a spectacular limestone karst landscape with an underground river. A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea.

Mayon Volcano
Situated on the island of Luzon, Mayon Volcano is an active stratovolcano. Known as the most active volcano in Philippines, having erupted over 47 times in the past 400 years.

Everyone will need a hotel during his or her travel. Some might go for a 5-star hotel and others might look for a lower price hotel. However, I’m pretty sure that travelers are going to look for a ‘good’ hotel for their trip. Now comes the question. What makes a good hotel?

As a market researcher who responsible for her company global projects and Asia North markets, Suzette was given a lot of chances to visit various parts of Asia, Australia and USA. Besides, working abroad also allows her to accumulate her experience in hotel staying.

According to Suzette, a good hotel must contain the following criterias:

• Flexible cancellation policy
• Never make mistake on customer’s details
• Good room service
• Must provide laundry service
• Good range of restaurants around
• Perfect location, easy access to public transportation
• Clean and with complimentary drinking water

When asked about the response of online enquiry for a good hotel, Suzette added, “The hotel must response within 2 hours, otherwise it will be considered as not effective.”

Vera Susanti, the Executive Assistant Manager of a 24 rooms Dusun Jogja Village Inn also send us some feedback regarding good hotel. In Vera’s point of view, a good hotel must be:

• Professional
• Family friendly feel services
• Know its guests more than just their name

She also agreed that the response to online enquiry is very important for hotel industry. “Through online booking, website and email, we can give the clients a better pictures of our service and our actual accommodation,” said Vera.

What do you say? Share with us what makes a good hotel.

The cute Beijing Olympic Mascots (start from left: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, Nini)

23 days to go… Countdown for Beijing Olympic Games from 16th of July!

The Games-time version of the Beijing Olympic Games official website finally launched yesterday. The official website served as a channel for different nations around the world to get the latest news about the Olympic Games. In order to suit different nations’ languages need, the official website is available in five languages, they are Chinese, English, french, Spanish, and Arabic.

Even if you could not witnessed the progress of games at live, you could still get the informations of the game in real-time just like you were present in the live games.
This Games-time website aims at spreading real-time news declared by authoritative sources like Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), International Olympic Committes (IOC), national and regional Olmpic committees. Besides, viewers could also witness the opening and closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. It also reported live game progress, competition schedules, interviews from sport stars, social celebrities, Olympic officials, and many more.

For spectators that would witness the games at live, this website provide comprehensive informations like E-maps which cater to any destinations within the certain areas, details of accommodations, guides to the host city, accessible services, transports, etc. It provides conveniences for spectators which will encourage their arrival and assist them in many ways.

In order to make the whole Olympic Games progress a success, the Beijing has spent much efforts in the preparations for the coming games. They spent so much time to build the National Stadium (known as Bird’s Nest) , a satisfactory stage for athletes from all around the world. They also built the 37 Olympic venues of high standard to provide a comfortable space for the athletes and spectators. (So much places and building has been built, can’t name them all.)

To let the world know the real Beijing, the government has devote themselves to preserve the charm of Beijing, like the Purple Forbidden City and the Great Wall, cleaning and beautified the city, design the mascots, and many more. Each mascots has a story behind. Find out more at Official Mascots of Beijing Olympic. The Beijing government also drafted plans for emergencies during the events and a series of security systems to prevent unfortunate events.

To organize the big event of the world, Olympic Games, at the same time promote the tourism in the country, China has spent greatest efforts with time, money, human resources, materials, etc included to let the world see a different China and make them changing their views on China. China’s people will definitely proud of China in terms of their languages and cultures. Anticipating the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games! Cheers!^^

Find out more details at The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The movie “Kung Fu Panda” sweep us off our feet with all the cute look and funny moves, it’s really exciting to actually know how these adorable creatures come to this world.  In celebration of the birth and life of one of the most adorable and endangered species our planet has to offer, here are a series of progressive photos of a Giant Panda — native only to China — from day 1 through to day 120, along with information about panda reproduction that you may find surprising.

Check it out the photos and the interesting write ups at this cool blog at life in the fast lane.

sources : Life in the fast lane

Surprising new research reveals the existence of two completely separate species of clouded leopards. In a study comparing differences in clouded leopard coat patterns and coloration throughout the cat’s range, researchers concluded that individuals found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra are markedly different from animals found on the Southeast Asian mainland. These observations have been supported by genetic testing that determined the two populations of clouded leopards are so distinct as to warrant classifying them as different species. Researchers estimate that the two species diverged approximately 1.5 million years ago due to geographical isolation.

Instead of their prior classification as a clouded leopard subspecies (Neofelis nebulosa diardi), animals in Borneo and Sumatra would be re-classified as a new species, Neofelis diardi, possibly to be named the Sundaland clouded leopard.

The coat patterns of clouded leopards from Borneo and Sumatra differ from mainland animals by having smaller and darker cloud markings and a darker overall coat color. Although these differences and the results of the genetic testing are convincing, researchers emphasize that more study is still needed. Only three samples from Borneo were analyzed so more individuals need to be examined to determine if the same conclusion can apply to the entire population.

Content and pictures courtesy of Advancing Clouded Leopard Conservation and Awareness

The World Heritage Committee meeting in Quebec City has added eight new cultural sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage List on the morning of the 7 of July.

“Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca (Malaysia) have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.”

Malacca Travel Guide

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For travelers who intend to spend a day visit and to cover most of the major temples, you might want to consider using our suggested itineraries of Angkor Archaeological Park. The itineraries are classified into two types – cycling and tuk-tuk tours, as illustrated in the map, which are cheaper options comparing to car taxi or bus tour.

Download your route here

For 1-day cycling tour, you have to rent a bicycle the night before the tour. The price of bicycle rental is around USD 2 to 3 per day. Start your cycling from Siem Reap at 4 am in order to reach the Angkor Archaeological Park before its visiting hour at 5 am. Purchase your USD 20 ticket pass at the main entrance on the road to Angkor Wat. Cycle toward the Angkor Wat and park your bicycle. Pay 500 Riel to the guardian of your bicycle.

As for 1-day tuk-tuk tour, make an arrangement with a tuk-tuk driver the night before the tour. Ask him to pick you up at 4am for a day trip to Angkor Archaeological Park. The price of hiring a tuk-tuk driver is about USD 10 to 13 for this route. Purchase your USD 20 ticket pass at the main entrance on the road to Angkor Wat. Ask the tuk-tuk driver to stop at Angkor Wat.

After contemplating the sunrise and its architecture from Angkor Wat, you can follow the cycling or tuk-tuk route respectively to continue your expedition of other temples.

There are many food stalls inside the Angkor Archaeological Park where you can stop by for savory dish craving.

Find this information useful? Get your full copy of Siem Reap travel guide now.

With more than 40 temples, some of which are in ruins, Angkor Archaeological Park is shrouded with myth, mystery and legend.

Angkor Wat, as the main attraction, is regarded as the most magnificent and comprehensively restored temple. The notable artistry of its massive moats and bas-relief carvings are best viewed at the sunrise or sunset. Photography of Angkor Wat is best taken at dawn as the towers are reflected in the lake beyond the moat wall.

Download your map here

Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei with enormous silk-cotton trees and strangler figs growing from the ruins are best visited at the heat of the day. The roots of silk-cotton tree entwined with the towers and corridors offer a jungle photogenic atmosphere.

Find this information useful? Get your full copy of Siem Reap travel guide now.