The large continent liked Asia, there are still many places that only a few of people could have been there. Where are mysterious and amazing in Asia? Where are the secrets of Asia?

Kong Lo Cave in Laos

Kaziranga National Park - India

Kotoku Temple - Japan

After the popularity of slow food which was a trend against fast food in Italy in 1980, many people response to this slow lifestyle, agriculture and travelling which is called “slow travel” – travelling slowly that will bring you the real happiness in your holiday.

Green Backpacker

: Slow Travel starts from packing your luggage. The keyword is stop bringing trash or pollution to community. Use a fabric bag for shopping, bring a personal bottle for decreasing plastic bottle consumption. When staying at the hotel, use electricity cleverly for example, don’t change a towel every day.

Open your heart

: When your luggage is ready, you heart must ready too. For experience new things on the way, you should take off your headphone, turn off your mobile, stopping online, don’t chat on blackberry, talk to a stranger next to you and you will know how many things in this world to learn.

Decrease your speed

: Walking and riding bicycle will make you see those little things better. Using public transportation also make you learn about simple life and fun.

Taste local food

: To complete your slow travel, try slow food such as local food, seasonal food, organic fruits and vegetables. They don’t have to transport, reduce global warming, spread income and they all fresh and delicious food.

What to see in Prague

If you don’t go to these places, you don’t arrive Prague.

Prague Castle and Saint Vitus Cathedral : Prague Castle is the biggest castle of the world in the middle age. It is called the gem of Prague. Saint Vitus Cathedral is also magnificent. The castle is exhibited of Czech history and Bohemian art collection. There are art center, toys museum, gunpowder tower and golden alley. All of them are the highlight of this place and take at least half a day to cover them all.

Old Town Square and Astronomic Clock Tower : They are in the center of old town. They are surrounded by stunning baroque, gothic and rococo architects. Old Town Square is a lovely place to chill out. There are plenty of nice cafes. You can rent a horse, riding in a horse carriage or take a walk to a market. Astronomic Clock Tower is a must-see.

Male Namesti : A few steps from the Old Town Square, there is a place which Franz Kafka used to live. Don’t miss Church of Our Lady Before Týn, Kinsky Palace which is a rococo style, Stone Bell House which was built in the middle age and the baroque Saint Nicholas Church.

Charles Bridge : This bridge was built in 1357 to replace Judith Bridge. Charles Bridge is one of the popular tourist attractions in Prague. There were some merchants and actors. It is beautiful day and night, the most beautiful moment are at sunrise and sunset.

Jewish Community : This is the oldest Jewish community in Europe. It was named after King Joseph II. It is consisted of six Jewish churchs. You can learn about the sad history of Jewish in the Jewish museum.

Municipal House : This art nouveau castle was built in between 1905 -1912. There is the largest concert hall in Prague (Smetanova Hall). And don’t miss a cup of coffee at Municipal House Kavárna

Lesser Town (Mala Strana) : This beautiful place was developed from 13th century by merchants who worked at the ground floor of the castle. Now It is full of restaurants, shops and embassies. You have to stop by at Saint Nicholas Church which is created in the baroque age or you can go a concert that will start at 5 o’clock in the afternoon.

Petrin Hill : Escape to the green and peaceful Petrin Hill. Visit the Petrin Tower to watch stars or just watch the beautiful scenery of the city.

Václavské náměstí : the new symbol of Prague today. There are shops, Evropa Café in art nouveau style, and Saint Wenceslas Monument.

Strahov Ecclesia : This gorgeous ecclesia was built in 1340 for Premonstratensians priests. The library, the philosophy tower and Strahov Art Center are the spots that everyone should stop by. Not far from Strahov Ecclesia, there is Loreto Ecclesia which was built by Katherina von Lobkwicz in 1926.

Church of Our Lady Before Týn : The inside of the church was decorated in gothic style from 14th century. It is at the Old Town Square.

Vysehrad : the former castle which no one want to come, now it is the popular park for people in the weekend. You can enjoy taking a walk in the park. Moreover you should visit Saint Martin Church, Saint Peter Church and Saint Paul Church.

National Museum : The most oldest museum in Czech. There is the great nature history exhibition from 1891 until now. It is decorated beautifully. And don’t miss a wonderful view point of Wnceslas Square from the top.

Rudolfinum : another concert hall in Czech. It was built in Neorenaissance. Orchestra concerts, shows and ceremonies are organized here.

Don’t miss : Vltava river cruise, the scenery of Prague from the river is a different experience. You will see historic place in a stunningly beautiful way.

Romantic Trip : The most romantic place next to Charles Bridge is Vysehrad. It is a quiet place, not many tourist around here. You can walk to a graveyard, a church or just walk and enjoy the beautiful surrounding. For the romantic night, you should go to see a show at The Estates theater, which is a fantastic theater and well conserved. With a little size of this theater, you will fell like sitting in a music box.

It was the last day of finding Sakura in Kyoto. It was my second time of travelling in Kyoto and I almost traveled thoroughly. Uji was the only one that left. It was on the south of Kyoto and I took trains passed it many times but never stopped by once. My friend commanded me that I couldn’t miss this town, so Uji was my last stop in this trip.

I sat opposite to two women on a train. When I asked them about Uji, she seems so proud of this town and showed me her ten yen coin. The picture of temple at the back of the coin is Byodo-In Temple, the famous temple of Uji. This temple is famous about the bird of paradise and the beautiful statue of Buddha in a wooden temple. Weather forecast in website showed that no rains that day, so I didn’t bring an umbrella which was a mistake because it was raining when I got there.

Byodo-In Temple - Kyoto

After I got a map and recommendations from information counter at the station. I started walking along a little street. Houses were decorated beautifully with flowers, there were a lot of Japanese sweets along the street. It was one of the specialty of Uji, sweets and tea.

I planned to have lunch with bento at the foot of the bridge, but because of the drizzle I changed to eat bento beside a river. It was a perfect place, the big Sakura tree became my umbrella when I was eating. Someone was fishing on the left, the opposite of me was many beautiful houses and Sakura trees. Whatever I ate at this place, it was definitely delicious.

After finishing lunch, I went to Byodo-In Temple. The first owner of this temple was Mijinaka Fujiwara. When his son was an owner, he changed the resident to a temple. This temple was inspired by the bird of paradise. Two birds, Ho and O, were on the roof of the temple. Foreigners called them Phoenix, the immortal bird. They were a story from the other side of the world that had something in common. So many people knew the bird of paradise at Byodo-In Temple as the Phoenix.

Ho and O - Phoenix

There was a museum near the temple. I impressed with the recording of the renovation of the temple most. The video presented the process of renovation, the old temple before it was renovated, all of them were very impressive. It showed when science of construction and imagination of the story in history combined.

The staff allowed only 20 people per round to come into the temple and photograph prohibited. The beauty of the statue of Buddha was so worth the wait. It was speechless exquisite. I was so sorry that I couldn’t take photos so I bought a book instead. There were plenty of photos in it.

That day ended fast. I could not go to all places that were recommended. It was a good thing, actually. I could have an excuse to come to this town again.

I started exploring Hanoi under the moonlight. I didn’t go to hotel when I arrived. I and Hy did not go to West Lake which was surrounded by many luxurious hotels. We didn’t start with a romantic scene but with a historic one. We went to discover the history at Truc Bach. This was a famous lake in history. North Vietnam shot American soldier airplane down and one of American soldiers made a parachute jump to this lake and survived. He’s John MacCain. He maybe wanted to forget this memory but this story was portrayed at How Low Prison Museum. This photo showed a picture of a group of Vietnamese men help John MacCain up to the bank of the lake. He was in jail for five years and a half. All of his clothes and parachute still was exhibited in the museum.

We continued to the next remain of the history at Huu Tiep Lake. Its nickname was B-52 Lake because there were some B-52 warplane components in this lake.

Hoan Kiem Lake - Vietnam

Not only about history of war, but Hanoi also had a lot of shopping places, especially the northern of Hoan Kiem Lake. It was an old area which was very chaos. This was 36 Hang street of Hanoi. The streets names in this area would have started with Hang and what it sold after. For example Han Bun was a street which sold mung bean noodle , Hang ma sold paper, Hang Bac sold accessories and jewelries, Hang Dau sold shoes, some of streets still sold stuffs liked the name of them, some didn’t. However the street would have sold the same thing along that street which was the uniqueness of them.

I lost and lost many times. The map that Hy gave me didn’t help that much. The weather was hot and humid. After I lost again and again, I started to understand the connection of those streets. Finally when I took a break by drinking orange juice at Tamarind Café,I found the old house which I intended to find across the street. That was what I learned from that day, what you intended to find, you wouldn’t. What you didn’t intend to find, you would.

There were tons of crafts in Hanoi. They were all from villages around. Hanoi women still loved to wear tailor-made clothes, that’s why there were a lot of talented tailors in Hanoi. I found my favorite at Tan My. This shop made only nightgowns for three generations. There were satin gown, silk gown, and cotton one. This was the must shop for everyone who came to Hanoi. This price was high, but the quality was so worth the price.

Not all Vietnamese food was European, but food in Hanoi was the most European in the country. I had the last dinner in Hanoi with a French meal. The taste and the atmosphere made me feel like I was in Paris, except for 90 degrees weather.

I never traveled to Hanoi before, I went there in last June. Hy told me that in June, Hanoi would have been full of Vietnamese. Hanoi is the center of education of Vietnam, so students and parents nationwide would have come to Hanoi to take University entrance examination. I couldn’t tell myself that Hanoi was crowed or not, only who lived here could tell.

I knew Hanoi from many narratives, especially about slowliness and romanticness. Maybe it came from people behavior, big trees, lakes, bicycles, beautiful buildings or cold weather in winter that made people think of Hanoi in that way. I was walking around Europe area, the sound of horn from traffic was not much noisy as in Saigon. Hanoi was like an elegant woman to me.

Long Bien Bridge - Vietnam

Hy, my friend who worked as a chef here, introduced me to a pretty female guide. She took me to Long Bien Bridge. This bridge crossed Dang River, this was the first place that America dropped a bomb in Vietnam War. This bridge was a path for VietCong to transport rice from Hanoi to Hifong island and China. It was designed by the same architect as Eiffel Tower in Paris, Gustave. When I told this history to a girl, she didn’t know this before even she’s Vietnamese. Then We rode in the rain under our own raincoat to Saint Joseph Church. That was Sunday when we went there, we quietly watched people conducted their ceremony. The road next to a church is Nha Tho road. There were many little cafes in Parisian style around that road. There were also designer shops, both foreign and local, that’s hard not to stop by. Church and shopping, they were very different things just around the corner.

Banh Cuon

Hy had his turn to take me to eat street food. Banh Cuon is the first we tasted. The restaurant was very tiny, but Hy told me that the owner was a millionaire. That aunt who busily cooked Banh Cuon sold Banh Cuon until she was rich but she didn’t change anything to her restaurant. The secret receipt was in the flour. Banh Cuon of this place consisted of nine types of flour that no one knew what they were. We continued to the next place which is very near to the Banh Cuon one. It was Bun Bo Nam Bo. Pho from this place was impressive. I was very regret that I didn’t know we would have two dinners in a row like this, so I was full from the first place and could not eat much in the second place. However Hy had to have dinner with his family as the third dinner for him. I had no idea how he could do that!

I walked after dinner alone at night market, not far from where we ate. Don Huan Street was crowned with people holding cheap beer in hands. I was a little confused why so many people drinking beers here, it was like Kaosan Road in Thailand but Kaosan Road was way better. I had no choices but walking and photographing around.

I thought that the reason why my mother asked me to go Angkor Wat with her because her name had the same meaning as Apsara (female divinity) in Cambodian language. So that was the first time I and Mom traveled alone together, jus two of us 24 hours a day. Luckily, I had been in Cambodia before, so I could have be her guide in this trip.

On the way to the hotel, my mom said that Siem Reap was romantic. Maybe it was because of the city she saw through a taxi’s window was a quiet place in the morning, someone riding bicycle slowly, and the river in the central of the city.

The rain which is just stopped made the day chilly. We walked to Tah Prohm temple. I was so surprised that we didn’t see other travelers. It was very quiet that my mom told that she had a goosebump. I was not sure whether she had a goosebump because of a cold weather or because of the faith of Cambodian that you could have felt from this temple. A boy in front of the temple pointed us a famous spot from a movie, Tomb Rider. This movie revealed a secret of Sapong tree and Tah Prohm temple to the world. Sapong tree and the temple bind tightly and that’s why it was so difficult to renovate this temple. Seperating the tree from the temple could have made Tah Prohm temple collapsed.

There was a old man sweeping leafs at Tah Prohm temple every day. Everyone can’t help shooting a photo of this man. He used to be in a cover of Lonely Planet once and then he became one of people who were photographed the most in the world.

Angkor Wat - Cambodia

We went to Angkor Wat in the afternoon. We couldn’t have explored all 1,800 rock poles. We stopped at the altar. A woman with fingerless hand gave joss sticks to both of us for praying. My mom looked amazingly at how that woman can work properly even she has no fingers. My mom and I didn’t go into suddenly. We found that the sunlight in the afternoon lighting on those walls was stunning. Especially those Apsara, they looked alive. There were Apsara all around the temple and they were all different. They dressed in different costumes, their hairdos were not the same, and their actings were unique from each other. My mom enjoyed walking and watching at those beautiful Apsara. She even acted like one for fun. We ended that day with sun set at Angkor Wat, one of the world seven wonders, one of the most beautiful sunset I’d ever seen in my life. So had my mother. She told me so.

Shen, my friend who is a yoga teacher excited that I was going to Penang. I’m more excited when I know that she had a friend in Penang who is a pole dancing teacher! And her, Michele was going to be our guide there.

Michele drove us to George Town which is the world heritage area and dropped us at Gurney Drive market for starting this eating trip. Food in Penang came from many cultures and was different from other parts of Malaysia. Michele was a wonderful host, selected the best dish from the best restaurant for us. Char Keuy Teow is delicious, Hokkien Mee came to Penang with Chinese but the soup was different, it’s made from shrimp instead of chicken. The highlight is Asam Laksa, a noodle with spicy soup. I ended this dish by drying up the soup. We finished our meal with Teh Tarik, a perfect warm tea.

Asam Laksa

Dessert of Penang was also memorable. Ais Kacang consisted of red bean, corn, jelly, prune and covered up with ice and red syrup. It is so fresh and delighted. I thought we ended with dessert but Michele said no. She guided us to White Coffee as the last stop.

Penang was rich in cultures. George was the capital of Penang, and also one of the world heritages. It had to give credit to local people who tried to conserve this city against some rich men who tried to buy those old buildings and change to new ones.

Armenian Street - Penang

We walked until we reached Armenian street. This street was at the end of the old town. We walked and turned our heads upward to watch old Penarakan building style. I was impressed by all the colors on those building walls. They were painted many times because of their ages. The colors and abrasions are unique and beautiful. Nobody could create something like this. They were only created from sunlight, rain, wind and time. For those building’s that always were new, they were belong to Chinese. They always looked after their buildings. The most outstanding one was Cheong Fatt Tze’s Blue Mansion. He was a Chinese man who came to Penang with nothing and worked so hard until he was a millionaire. Not only Penang people respected him, but also British and Dutch too. The architecture of the mansion was fascinating, it took seven years to build by Chinese craftsmans.

From architecture we came back to food, but this time it was fruit. The must in Penang was durian! We were out of George Town, drove along the beach side in the northern of Penang. The sceneries were the sea sometimes and the forest for sometimes. Our destination was Tropical Fruit Farm. There were many fruits there, not only durian. And there were fruits all the year round, avocado, orange, grape, jackfruit, etc. All of them were organic.

Coming to Penang this time made me understand “Live to eat, not eat to live”. This quote was very fit to Penang, and I and my friend did exactly what this quote was about.

I fell in love with Kyoto like my guide-friend, Himoto thought I would be. The Harmony of opposition was very interesting. People in the old world and the modern world can live together happily, an uncle making charcoal, an aunt at a bathhouse, and many young man with colorful hair with young girls in a very short skirt riding bicycles. If you look for an elder, you might see them in a western suit going to see an opera or you might see them in kimono (the traditional costume) in a subway, acting like it’s a normal cloth but it’s not normal for us. It’s a fancy.

Himoto used to live in Kyoto many years. She was a guide for me. She can explain about the wealth of culture in Kyoto. She thanked me for being her partner in this trip, but I am the one who had to thank her for bringing me to Kyoto. However we both fell in love in Kyoto and couldn’t wait for this trip!

Philosopher's road in the northern district of Sakyo - Kyoto

Himoto borrowed two bicycles from her Japanese friend for us. There was no better way to get to know Kyoto by bicycle. We started at the university and Botanical Garden, the Northern of Kyoto. We rode along the Philosophy Road. There were no Sakura flower in the summer, but we could see the leafy Sakura tree instead and that’s not bad. I remembered walking on a Sakura flowers which falling and lying like the most softness carpet ever in spring. I had no doubt why philosophers liked to walk and think on this street. Nature is the only one that gave the best power to our brain and our heart.

We rode bicycles slowly from the Northern of Kamo river. There are many old food shops along this small road. Especially Demaji Futaba, it was a famous Mochi shop. Even a fierce guy, looking like a mafia had to stop his car and line up to buy some Mochi. Himoto was absolutely a fan of this shop. She used to eat Mochi from this shop and can’t wait to taste it again. We stopped our bikes and stand in a line waiting for our turn. The second when I had the first bite of Mochi. It made me smiled happily. I told Himoto that I would not forget this deliciousness and from now on I would think of Demji Futaba forever.

Shijo - Kawaramachi road - Kyoto

That day our last stop was Shijo road. We walked aross Teramachi, Shinkyogoku, ended at Kawaramchi road. We ate and shopped around this area. There are brand name shops, local designer shops, second hand shops, Sage bar, and tons of restaurants. Himoto knew where to eat, where to shop, what to eat and what to shop, but she messed up with the direction. I was good at direction when I traveled. So I was her map and she was my detail. We were a perfect couple!

A few days are not enough to know all about Kyoto. Many years for Himoto are not enough to get to know all about Kyoto, either. It’s like she said “No matter how long you live in Kyoto, It’s impossible to know all about this city.”

Everyone knows Singapore is for shopping, shopping and shopping. Old things can’t be found in Singapore, everything is new. This makes I have to update myself every time I travel to this country.

Everything in Singapore makes itself a perfect place to shop, especially its city planning. The planning is flawless, the buildings, the roads, or the super convenient transportation. Like Orchid road, it used to be a garden. Now there are a lot of shopping malls, they are not just a mall that wants to sell stuffs. Their buildings designs, the atmosphere, the window display are all stunning. Even I am not a shopping girl, I can’t help being excited.

North East Line MRT - Singapore

I decided to take the North East Line subway for this travelling. I began with Little India. From the Little India station, I got off at the exit which connected to Buffalo road. This place in the afternoon was filled with good smell. That smell came from flower shops, spice shops, and many restaurants. Even I used to come to Little India many time, I still had to stop by here every time. I never got bored of this place. There always was something new which captured my intention. I loved Srivirama Galiamman temple, Tarik tea café, Sari shops along the street. There would be some Singaporean-Indian guy calling me to buy his tea, joss stick, shoes, or offered me a Henna painting on hand which I always said yes. I left Little India with Henna on my hand every time.

Next two stations was Clarke Key, next to Singapore River. Those entertainment attractions would be chaotic in the evening and weekend. Apart from bars and nightclubs, there is Bungy Jump for kids. The distinctive point of Clarke Key is concept bars. Every bar tried to differentiate itself. The Clinic is a bar with hospital concept, customers would sit on a short bed, drinking from a blood tube. Hootsters from America is a bar that waitresses had a big boobs and wearing a tight costume.

Vivo City - Singapore

Harbour Front was the last station. There was the newest shopping mall here, Vivo City. Toyo Ito is a Japanese architect who didn’t design anything outside Japan except for this, Vivo City in Singapore. He focused his design on space and temperature. Building of Vivo City was curved and waved like water wave. There were a playground, a swimming pool and a theatre on the highest floor. Six-meter tall colorful tree in front of the building was one of Vivo City’s highlight. It was a masterpiece from Choi Jeong-Hwa, the Korean artist. I liked how this shopping mall divined in countries. The Spain part was full of fashion exhibition and brand name shops from Spain. Restaurants were also awesome. My favorite was Red White & Pure. This place’s concept is clean and healthy food. The atmosphere is not like in the shopping mall because all the tables turned its head to the sea.

Even though Singapore is small, I used to travel here many time, but Singapore gives me new fresh feeling every time, too. Many people said this country is boring, but I never get bored or this small country.