Malaysia at 53!

Malaysia celebrates its 53rd year of independence today, August 31, 2010 or locally known as Merdeka Day from British occupation. I would like to use this blog to promote and greet our Malaysian friends a HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! What a nice feeling of being LIBERATED and FREE! wink...

For more information, here is the 2010 eNewsletter issue of the Tourism of Malaysia.

Once again, HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!..Malaysia truly Asia.

Palawan - The Paradise Island

I won't do much of the talking this time. I want to show you the place Filipinos called "The Philippines Last Frontier".

This is the video of the beautiful, the amazing, the splendid, my hometown....PALAWAN!

Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games

After almost two weeks of intense sports competition from our future Olympians, the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games has finally come to an end. The medal count as of 25 August, 10.30 pm shows that China, Russia and South Korea got the highest number of medals. Today, August 26 is the last day but the medal count has not been updated yet. There might still be changes.

Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games Medal Tally

(as of 25 August, 10.30 pm)

Thailand got 4 golds and 3 silvers.

Vietnam has 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronzes.

The host country Singapore has 2 silvers and 5 bronzes.

Malaysia got 2 silvers.

Cambodia got 1 bronze.

Indonesia got 1 bronze.

Sad to say, the Philippines, Laos, Brunie, Myanmar and Timor-Leste didn't get any medals.

I guess it's better luck next time, then?

And the winners are...

http://edwinrosario.blogspot.com/2009/09/miss-mexico-universo-2010.html

The 2010 Miss Universe Pageant held at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Vegas gave us Southeast Asian something to smile about. Although the title was given to 22 year old Jimena Navarrete of Mexico, our very own Miss Venus Raj of the Philippines grabbed the fourth runner up, and Miss Fonthip Watcharatrakul of Thailand won the Miss Photogenic Universe and Best in National Costume awards.

Miss Thailand

The first runner up was Miss Yendi Phillipps of Jamaica, while Miss Jesinta Campbell of Australia and Miss Ukraine Anna Poslavska won the second and third runner ups respectively.

Miss Philipines

I would like to congratulate all the participants especially the winners in our region (Thailand - Philippines). Mabuhay! Southeast Asian beauties - Let's do better in 2011...!

Video's not mine

East Timor eyes ‘strong business ties’ with Burma

East Timor is a tiny country in Southeast Asia bordering Indonesia on the west. I would assume that there are people who haven't heard of its capital Dili, or even Timor Leste itself for that matter. In fact the country became a sovereign state on May 20,2002 only after decades of war and bloodshed.

Just like a new kid on the block, East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta would like to strengthen its relations to its neighboring countries. He had a meeting with Burma's foreign minister but it drew protest because of the country's violation of human rights. One such violation is National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's 20 year detention, just because she stood in the election. Come on, gimme a break!

Everyone wants peace! I don't think anybody here wants to be violated...

Anyhow, click HERE to read the complete article.

Miss Universe 2010

The 59th edition of the Miss Universe Pageant will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada particularly at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on August 23, 2010. Last year's winner was Miss Stefania Fernandez of Venezuela who will crown this years winner at the end of this event. The show will be hosted by Bret Michaels and Natalie Morales.

With beauty, talent and brain; our representatives here in Southeast Asia are forces to be reckoned with. So without further adieu, let's hover to the images to meet our lovely ladies.

Miss Indonesia

Name: Qory Sandioriva

Age: 19

Hometown: Jakarta

Miss Malaysia

Name: Nadine Ann Thomas

Age: 23

Hometown: Kuala Lumpur

Miss Philippines

Name: Venus Raj

Age: 22

Hometown: Bato Town

Miss Singapore

Name: Tania Lim Kim Suan

Age: 23

Hometown: Singapore

Miss Thailand

Name: Fonthip Watchararakul

Age: 20

Hometowm: Samut Prakan

I dunno exactly as to why Vietnam has no representative this year. Can anyone enlighten us? Also, Miss Swe Zin Phyo who was crowned Miss Universe 2010 (Myanmar) on January 30, after 49 years of waiting was not on the Miss Universe Site. Well probably, she was not permitted to join international pageant tsk tsk.When are you going to allow them? Anyways, I hope our girls will bring home the awards..and of course the tiara! Yohoooo!!!!

Good luck girls!

Indonesia at 65!

The largest archipelago in the world with a population of around 240 million is celebrating its 65th year independence! That's right, today August 17, 2010 is Indonesia's 65th Independence.

Click picture for a better view

I would like to greet our Indonesian friends "HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY". May the leaders and government officials be the instrument in making the country more productive and successful. 

Viva Indonesia!

Halong Bay - Vietnam

Made up of 1,969 islands of different sizes, Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its spectacular beauty of limestone karsts. It is located in Quảng Ninh province of Vietnam that stretches from Halong City, Cam Pha, and part of the district of Van Don which creates a 120 km coastline. 

Ha Long Bay literally translates to "Descending Dragon Bay" in Vietnamese. It is a popular travel destination for locals and tourists alike. The bay has an area of 334km² consists of 775 islands that has gone through millions of years of formation.

I checked online what makes Halong Bay more popular and here's what i got from Wiki.

In popular culture

• In Régis Wargnier's 1992 film Indochine, two characters drift around Ha Long Bay for several days following a pivotal scene.
• It was the theme of Robocon (Asia-Pacific Robot Contest) held in Vietnam in 2007: "Discover Ha Long" 
• The band dredg wrote a song titled Ha Long Bay.
• In 1974 Halong Bay was the set for Scaramanga's (Christopher Lee) Lair in the James Bond Movie The Man With The Golden Gun.
• In the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, James and Wai Lin attempt to chase down Elliot Carver (played by Jonathan Pryce) in the Ha Long Bay area.
• It was featured on the Amazing Race 10 on "Leg 4", which was originally aired on October 8, 2006.
• It was featured in the programme The Hairy Bikers' Cookbook.
• It was featured in the penultimate episode of the UK television show "By Any Means" in November 2008, when Charlie Boorman and his team were stranded in their boat.
• It was featured in a full length episode of the UK television show Top Gear, Series 12, on 28 December 2008.
• A background stage that looks very similar to Ha Long as well as bearing a crate that has the word "HALONG" written on it, is featured in Capcom's Street Fighter IV.

Cool huh? And because of its beauty and popularity, one can also enjoy a romantic cruise on the bay.

Youtube Sensation - Charice

Started from a very humble beginning, Charice's story is like from "Rags to Riches" type of thing. She joined several singing competition when she was young to pay for their bills and other stuff . Three years later, her song "Pyramid" hit the number one on US Billboard dance/club chart. Known as the petite singer from the Philippines, Charice rose to stardom because of her uploaded videos that caught the interest of international talk show hosts Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey. After that, the rest is history.

Reader's Digest Asia just featured a short story of her (How cool is that?). Click Here to read more.

Ramadan

Two days ago, our Muslim friends all over the world and here in Southeast Asia started Ramadan. Ramadan is the time when they abstain eating from dawn till sunset (fasting), and when sexual activities and drinking are also refrained. 

It is the holiest month of our Muslim brothers usually celebrated during August, September,October, November and December. A unification of spiritual reflection and renewal of oneself for the sake of Allah (Arabic translation of God). As what the Prophet Muhammad said "For the person who is fasting, there are two moments of happiness and rejoicing; when he breaks his fast, and when he meets his Lord."

The Queen's Birthday

I would like to use this blog as a platform in giving my sincere wishes to Thailand's Queen , Her Majesty Queen Sirikit as she celebrates her 78th birthday tomorrow August 12, 2010. The Queen is the longest serving consort of the monarch and the King is currently the longest reigning head of state.

She is being revered as Thailand's mother, thus today is also Thailand's Mother's Day.

Awards Won By Thailand

In 2008 Bangkok was awarded the number one spot in Best City Overall by Travel + Liesure's World's Best Awards. However, it was short-lived because Udaipur in India took the title in 2009. This year, Bangkok reclaimed its title of being number one and was announced in New York on July 8, 2010.

Being the number one city is not just enough because The Peninsula, Bangkok, Four Seasons Resort, Chiang Mai, Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, Chiang Mai and Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok  are ranked 7,27,45 and 57 respectively in 100 World's Best Hotels.

Still not enough! Among the Top 15 Resorts in Asia, 5 got in and the Four Seasons Resort, Chiang Mai was ranked 5th. In the Top 25 City Hotels in Asia, The Peninsula, Bangkok got the first rank. And the last but not the least; the islands of Koh Samui and Phuket got the number 4 and 5 in the  Top 5 Islands in Asia.

Thailand bested all nominees and its slogan "Amazing Thailand", fits perfectly. YEAH!

For the complete ranking, here is the link to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Click HERE

New death of Mekong River dolphin

Dolphins of Irrawaddy river aren't actually river dolphins but oceanic dolphins who make brackish water their home. They are closely related to the orcas (killer whale) which are also in the oceanic dolphin family. These dolphins are now endangered species which dies from gold mining,electrofishing, and being trapped in gillnets.

Yesterday, a sad story of an Irrawaddy dolphin happened in north eastern part of Cambodia. The dolphin was found dead in a fishing net. It is said that the 27 year old dolphin swam out of the protected zone looking for food.

People living near the river are sympathetic to dolphins. They said that dolphins are very helpful because they drive fish into their nets in exchange of few fish for a meal. However, sometimes the death of these creatures just like humans is inevitable.

The complete report can be found  HERE.