Category: Going Places

My travelogue.

Limited Edition CubicFun 3D Puzzle of Guangdong Arcade Building

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I didn’t buy this Limited Edition CubicFun 3D Puzzle of Guangdong Arcade Building. It was given to me by the Tourism Administration of Guangdong Province, China. I went there in 2017 for an official trip. I am not sure how many of these were given out but I just can’t seem to find them anywhere online. I’m guessing that this is specifically designed for the tourism administration as one of their corporate souvenirs.

I am not into this kind of puzzle. Almost 5 years later, I opened this up and assembled it. Hahaha… For the sake of uploading a video on my YouTube channel because I ran out of content ;p It is quite an easy puzzle. I’m sure those in primary school or even kindergarten know how to do it. It took me almost an hour though. If it’s not because of filming it, I guess I could complete it in a shorter time frame.

After making this, I did find it quite fun to do. I don’t mind doing some other 3D puzzles if I got my hands on them. However, I won’t specifically buy it 😀 I do not mind getting it as a gift though. Anyway, do you like to play with this kind of puzzle?

I’ve been to China a few times for work purposes but I’ve never been there for leisure. I did blog about it before but not about the work. It’s more on the places I’ve been to while on duty and hotels that I stayed in when I was there. Funnily, I did not have any post on Guangzhou where I got this puzzle because the trip was too overwhelming. I had no time to take many photos of the trip except for work report purposes.

Check out the posts of my China trips here

Asia’s World City – Hong Kong
China’s City of Culture – Nanjing
City of Peonies – Luoyang
Pearl of the Orient – Shanghai
City of the Goat – Guangzhou

City of the Goat - Guangzhou, Going Places, Randomness, Vlog

Roxy Tasik Biru & Siniawan Night Market | Ever Thought of Celebrating Birthday Here?

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How long have you not been to Tasik Biru, Bau? It’s been years for me. I think the last time I was here was back in 2017 or is it 2018? See… Too long till I cannot remember. Then in 2020, everything was closed. Everyone just stayed home.

Two weekends ago, it was my brother’s birthday. Too bad he couldn’t come back, stuck in Singapore. We decided to just drive around and ended up in Bau. We took some photos and videos to show him instead. Hahaha… If he’s back, if the pandemic doesn’t exist, we might celebrate his birthday here.


Here are some of the structures found in Bau town. I quite like the one on the right with flying birds. The one on the left is pitcher plants and gold miners. Bau has a history of being a gold mining town.

Recently, at the end of 2021, a new hotel was opened. It’s called the Roxy Tasik Biru.

Prior to that, this is the only signboard you would see. Minus those infrastructures at the back. This lake has a lot of stories and mysteries of its own. You can always Google it 😉


Now, you can find floating chalets and eatery there along with the fountain and floating platform that let you cross the lake to get to the hotel.


Water activities such as boat rides and paddling are available. Need to pay of course. Can feed fish too. The new additions to the lake give some pop of colours to the lake. Previously, it was all shades of greens and blues.


Look at the mountain there. Whenever you see this mountain, you know that you’re in Bau. It’s called Mount Krian aka Kerian(if I’m not mistaken). I didn’t know this place is Sarawak Delta Geopark though haha… Only know now *LOL* Don’t think I was aware of it even when I was working in my previous company ;p I think the signboard was only built recently. Looks rather new.


Truth to be told I prefer this side of the view. Never paid attention to how beautiful the view here is. Who would expect this view is just right here, so near to home?

We were there for one hour or less. Then we made our way back to Kuching. Along the way, we stopped at Siniawan Night Market.

I’ve not been here for so long. The last time I came here was for work. I remember there was one time when we celebrated a friend’s birthday here but don’t remember exactly when. The weekend night market is basically a mini food fair. Have you ever celebrate birthday here?


Since we were there at 4.30pm, there was no crowd and people were still preparing for the night. In fact, we had no plan to dine here. Just want to have a look. It’s been a while.


However, we did buy some local Chinese kue home for dinner. There you go… My quick little unplanned trip to Bau. Still pretty much staying at home, not going anywhere.

Going Places, Land of the Hornbills - Sarawak, Lundu/Bau

Manhole Covers in Kansai Region

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The manhole covers in Japan is always very fascinating. it’s not just manhole covers but it’s art! They have different designs for different places. Estimated, there are about 6000 designs all over Japan.

I managed to took photos of some when I was at Kansai region in August 2019. I got Osaka, Ikeda, Wakayama, Kobe, and Nara. Too bad, I didn’t take any at Shiga and Kyoto, I forgot! Anyway, here are what I managed to take:



Next time, when you’re in Japan, don’t forget to take a look at the ground. You’ll find many interesting designs on the manhole cover in which each has its own representation of the location uniqueness.

Going Places, Land of the Rising Sun - Japan

Day 8: Goodbye Osaka (How much I spent?)

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If you are wondering how much I spent for this trip to Osaka in Summer 2019, here’s the video that summarize my expenditure. By the way, I wasn’t a budget or luxury trip. It’s pretty much in between. Hence, if you are on a budget, I’m sure you can spend less than I spent. Hope that this can be a guideline to you and give you an idea of how much budget you need if you are to go to Osaka.


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Going Places, Land of the Rising Sun - Japan

Day 7: Must Eat Kobe Beef When In Kobe | Kobe Beef at Akanoren

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Day 7: Must Eat Kobe Beef When In Kobe | Kobe Beef at Akanoren

Last year, I did go to Kobe but we didn’t eat any Kobe beef. This time around, it is a must to eat it!! There are many Kobe beef eateries around, very easy to find. Don’t worry about them charging high price for it if it is located in the tourist attractions, there shouldn’t be such problem. They all charged pretty much similar and do not worry about it being fake. I believe Japanese don’t do that and they take pride in their beef and their integrity.


There are so many of them at Nankin Machi, Chinatown of Kobe. We didn’t have ours here because it was still early. This is quite an interesting place to go and it is also a foodie heaven. Eateries everywhere!


We had ours at Akanoren(3 Chome-9-5 Sannomiyacho, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0021, Japan). This restaurant was founded in 1906. It wasn’t plan, we just decided to go for it because of the rain and it was already way over lunch time and we were so hungry after so much walking at the shopping streets. It rained throughout our time there. That’s why we ended up at the shopping streets instead. This Kobe Beef restaurant is located at Sannomiyacho which is also a shopping street hahaha…

When you order, make sure it is printed as Kobe Beef in the menu(they have English menu), not the other beef on the menu. You might be tempted to order cheaper option but those will not be Kobe Beef. I almost ordered the cheaper option then realized it is not under the Kobe Beef category phew… We ordered the set that cost 7000yen. They have steak only which was around 3000-4000yen. In fact, this is good enough if you just want to eat meat.


Left: My first time eating beef shashimi. Interesting… No weird taste, just beef melt in your mouth…

Right: The most awaited main!!! Love it! I love my beef just lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled. They didn’t ask us how we want it to be cooked though. I don’t really mind as long that it is not rare or well-done. I’m sure they know what is best and I’m happy with this even though it looks rare than what I usually will eat, I didn’t mind, it’s not bad at all. With the heat from the hotplate, it will be cooked further too. Not a problem at all, it’s grilled to perfection! No taste of blood or anything. Just yummy, tender, juicy, melt in your mouth beef.

They served it on hotplate and they provided us with bibs to protect our clothes from oil splatters from the hotplate.


This is the set. The sashimi was served first which is not in this photo but it’s in the photo above this photo while the dessert is below this photo.

So, you know why I said you just need to order the steak instead of the set. I personally just need the meat, I don’t need the salad, the rice, the soup, and the dessert. It was a bit too much for us. We ordered one set each, regretted a bit because we could have save about 2000yen if we ordered just the meat but it’s OK, still a satisfying meal. If you plan to go, just skip the set, doesn’t matter which shop, you don’t need the set.


Left: Since we ordered a set, that means we had dessert to end the meal. The ice cream were yuzu and green tea flavours. They tasted quite nice.

Right: If you are not sure whether the place serve real Kobe beef, here’s how you can make sure you are getting the real deal. The bronze plaque displayed in the store means that it is appointed by the Kobe Meat Logistics Promotion Consociation. When you order, make sure it’s listed under the Kobe Beef section in the menu.

Before I end the post, here’s the travel vlog, see Kobe beef in action hahaha…

Happy 2020 in advance! Gosh… My expectations on my future beef steak is gonna be hard to please… Oh no…


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Food Porn, Going Places, Land of the Rising Sun - Japan, Review It!