We Love Asia Festival, Music concert in Kuala Lumpur

Posted on January 25, 2013 by skisoo

What do you do with a F1 circuit when it is not the racing period? A music festival! The Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia is no stranger to such events. During the weekend of 19 January 2013, it was the We Love Asia Festival with Yolanda Be Cool, Taio Cruz, DJ Antoine the first night and Steve Aoki, Joachim Garraud and Redfoo for the second night.

I was there for the first day. Information on the Internet indicated that the festival began at 5pm, I found it odd to have a festival in full afternoon but my friend wanted to be there early. 5pm sharp there… well there were not many people, 200 people max. I was a little afraid at that time but finally when night fell, the arena was packed!

The early evening was occupied by local youngsters with fairly soft music until the first headliner, Yolanda Be Cool came to heat things up and give a performance truly appreciated by the public. They then made their way to DJ Antoine who did not make a big impression according to the reaction of people at the end of his performance and finally Taio Cruz who made the crowd hysterical with his famous songs!

Next big music festival on 15 and 16 March 2013: http://www.airasiaredtix.com/events/FutureMusicFestival2013/

The stage during the afternoon

Yolanda Be Cool at We Love Asia

Taio Cruz at We Love Asia

A little food trail in Penang

Posted on December 29, 2012 by skisoo

Why visit Penang? For food of course! The mix of Chinese, Indian and Malay cultures has created a culturally rich community and food is undeniably one of its most interesting elements. In the same street you can eat everything – from Roti Canai (Malaysian version of the traditional Indian flat bread), Asam Laksa (spicy noodle soup, ranked 7th among the most delicious in the world by CNN Go) to classic Nasi Lemak (rice cooked with coconut milk with some fried chicken, cucumber, dried anchovies, peanuts and spicy paste). I am fortunate to know a local who took me to different to discover some of the local specialties.

Restoran Pokok Ciku

A Malay restaurant on the side of the road that has a lot of things to try, including many meats in delicious ‘kuah’ (gravy). We limited ourselves to beef and chicken in different sauces with rice. Really good to start the day.

The different choices at Restoran Pokok Ciku

Fruit Rojak

Small stroll on the Miami beach at Batu Ferringhi with Fruit Rojak prepared by a motorcycle vendor . The dish consists of various sour fruits: green mango, guava, green apple, pineapple, soaked in a black sauce made of shrimp paste with sugar, lime juice, chili and peanuts. The combination gives a rather interesting dish, the acidity of the fruit being balanced by the sauce. This dish is a classic for locals and tourists who dare to try.

Fruit Rojak

Nan Guang Asam Laksa Coffee Shop

Asam Laksa, the most famous dish of Penang, not to be missed! A rice noodle soup made of tamarinds, mackerel, galangal, lemongrass, and spices with some lettuce, mint and onions. The sour soup is very rich in taste and will make you want to return to Penang. A typical dish, really excellent.

Asam Laksa at Nan Guang Asam Laksa Coffee Shop

Maxim Dim Sum Restaurant

You want a typical breakfast of Penang? Go for early yum cha (drink tea) at Maxim Restaurant, open only from 6 am to 14h. You may struggle to find a place as the restaurant is often crowded. It offers an impressive variety of dim sum and fried food, impossible to try them all at once! the Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun and eggs tarts are must-try.

Dim Sum at Maxim Dim Sum Restaurant

Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery

Posted on December 10, 2012 by skisoo

Do you want to visit a temple with many superlatives in Singapore? Go visit the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See monastery. It is the largest temple complex and the largest Buddhist temple in Singapore, it contains one of the largest image of Buddha in bronze (13.8 meters and 55 tones). There is also an image of Guanyin Bodhisattva with 1,000 arms and the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas (which, according to the signs for tourists, combines Southeast Asian architecture with modern design).

It is a nice place to visit outside the center of Singapore (there are several buses that stop right outside).

Temples

Tse Tho Aum Temple

Pagoda of 10 000 Buddhas

Statue of Guanyin and Bouddhas on the grass

Image of Bouddha

Dragons

Green space near the temples

A walk in Bukit Timah nature reserve

Posted on November 21, 2012 by skisoo

It has been a long time that I wanted to go to Bukit Timah nature reserve, the nature reserve in the middle of Singapore, without having the time to go. After a failed attempt a few months ago (I took the wrong bus), I finally went.

For users of public transport, access is not really simple, several buses stop not too far from the entrance, but you have to cross a highway and walk to the Bukit Timah nature reserve visitor centre. The second option is to take the bus to The Rail Mall and use the small entrance of Jalan Asas, which was what I did. The interesting thing about entering via Jalan Asas is that it is located right next to the beautiful Singapore Quarry:

Singapore Quarry

You only have the choice between two long tracks: an asphalt footpath and a mountain bike trail directly into the forest. The other trails have their starting point near the Visitor Center. Obviously, coming to the Singapore Forest to walk on an asphalt road is not very pleasant, so I took the bike trail that makes a 6 km loop.

Hiking trail

Bike trail in th forest

The jungle in the heart of the city is really amazing and full of life, I met several groups of monkeys, a squirrel, and some Singaporeans biking, climbing or hiking.

After the 6 km bike trail, I finally arrived at the Bukit Timah nature reserve Visitor Center. The path to go to the summit (163.63 meters, highest point in Singapore!) start from this place. Unfortunately, there is no view of the city, only a view of the Singapore Quarry as you step closer to the dangerous edge to get a look..

Bukit Timah Summit stone

Singapore Quarry from above

I made a video of my hike on the bike path with my GoPro Hero 2 slightly accelerated (16x):

A story of cats and dogs

Posted on November 8, 2012 by skisoo

The last time I went to the Esplanade I was greeted by a happy herd of cats and dogs sitting quietly on the 13 steps in front of the Esplanade main entrance.

Cat

This artwork received the most votes for the 10th anniversary of the Esplanade. The idea of the artistic installation came to the artist following an anecdote from the Prime Minister encouraging Singaporeans to be more proactive in saying that ministers could not do everything, including culling cats and saving dogs.

Dogs

The work is called In the Affair of Cats & Dogs, the Government’s Involved and So Shall We and will be until 1 January 2013 in the Esplanade concourse.

Cats and dogs

What is the best country to start a business in South East Asia?

Posted on November 4, 2012 by skisoo

Starting a business can be fast, simple and cheap or rather a true obstacle course. These are all possible in South East Asia.

Singapore Skyline

The Doing Business study identifies the characteristics of various countries according to two sets of indicators.

Complexity and cost of the regulatory processes: starting a business, Dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes and Trading across borders.

Strength of legal institutions: getting credit, protecting investors, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers.

The Doing Business 2013 study was released at the end of October. The result? Singapore is the world leader for the 7th consecutive year, and the city-state is followed by Hong Kong and New Zealand. Singapore rank varies depending of the indicator, rank 1 for trading across borders and rank 36 for registering property (5 procedures, 21 days and a cost of 2.9% of the property value). Singapore ranks 4th to create a business: 3 procedures, 3 days at a cost of 0.6% of income per capita.

Doing Business ranking

In the rest of South East Asia, Hong Kong is relatively similar to Singapore. Malaysia has a good overall rank and a good score for the strength of its legal institutions (rank 1 to obtain credit and rank 4 for investor protection). Japan despite having a positive reform loses 4 places compared to the 2012 study, indicating stagnation while other countries are progressing.

Starting a business indicators

China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines, although all had positive reforms in 2011/2012, they lag behind according to the Doing Business indicators.

Tax Rate

Source: World Bank. 2013. Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises. Washington, DC: World Bank Group. DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-9615-5. License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0