One of the objectives of my grand tour of Asia, which I have embarked a few months ago, is to visit the three countries that comprise French Indochina: Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. I have always been intrigued by the history and culture of this exotic region. My initial fascination by Indochina stems from romantic novels and movies on this region -- the excitement and mystery associated with Indochina are hard to beat. Needless to say, not all movies accurately depict the true character of these countries. Further reading on history and serious literature helped me to understand the their historical and cultural background, but I was also further intrigued to visit these countries. My long time wish was finally fulfilled when I finally visited these three countries. I even did a volunteering stint in Laos for 2+ months and hence spent significant time with the people and learned much about their culture and language.

Vietnam is the bustling of the trio. In Vietnam, your sensory gets overloaded with sight (beautiful natural wonders and dynamic urban habitat), sounds (my love-and-hate relationship of cacophony of motorbikes, people and of course the constant sound of the horn), and taste (Vietnamese food is among the most delicious food around). Let not also forget the beautiful Vietnamese woman, whom I consider to be the most exquisite in S.E. Asia. Visiting Vietnam today reminds me of China 10-15 year. Its nascent economic boom, evident by the sheer number of new factories built on the outskirts of Hanoi and the drastically improved standard of living, is indeed visible and real. Someone in Vietnam told me that just 7 years ago, the primary mode of transportation of the people was the bicycle, today it is the motorcycle or the moped. This is no surprise. The Vietnamese are known for their energy and resourcefulness. They are no pushovers either. As evident in their history, the Vietnamese fought off invaders (too many to list), sometimes lost; but they always rebel and somehow managed to beat off the invaders.

I was unimpressed with Cambodia at first. Then came ambivalence. Finally, a strange love and hate relationship about the country. Initially, I found Cambodians rather skeptical of strangers, the infrastructure of the country crumbling (although has been rapidly improving over the past 3 years and not as bad as some other countries), and yes, police still as corrupted (yep, I had a close encounter with Cambodian finest). But as I immense in the culture and learn of their proud yet sometimes profoundly tragic history, I started to enjoy my stay there. Cambodians do open up once they know you better. They are proud of their heritage and seem to embrace economic progression. In Cambodia, there is something that has become the indispensable national symbol of Cambodia. The flag of Cambodia has it, the banknote has it, the sign of a local store has it; Angkor Wat appears on virtually everything in Cambodia. But does actual Angkor Wat lives up to my expectation. Absolutely yes. The pride of Cambodia is simply divine. And divine it is. The whole complex is a must-see for anyone traveling in the region. Don't just visit the temple of Angkor Wat itself, there are plenty other temples which are just as impressive. It seems that long time ago there was a competition among ancient kings to build temples that are more refined and impressive than those built by their predecessor. As much as I adore Angkor Wat, my favorite temple complex is the mystical Bayon with its awe-inspiring 4-faced Buddha statues. To me, the Bayon is the epitome of Khmer architecture and refinement. But Cambodia's history is also of war and atrocities. The Pol Pot's regime committed some of the worst atrocities in S.E. Asia. Some 1.5 million (estimates vary from 1 to 3 million) were murdered, sent to labor camps, or died of starvation between 1975 and 1979. The genocide eventually spilled over to Vietnam and in late 1978, the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia over the massacres of several of its bordering villages by the Khmer Rogue. Finally, by 1979, the Pol Pot's regime was put to an end by the Vietnamese.

Last but not least, there is Laos, which is arguably the most laid-back country in S.E. Asia. If you are looking for a country with still an immaculate environment (cultural and physical), then this is the country to visit. There are still large tracts of natural forest and mountain in the country. But Laos is a country that is about the people as much as it is about the land. I thoroughly enjoyed my long stay in Laos because of the stress-free, relaxing atmosphere and the people whom I consider to be some of most benevolent. Vientiane, the city where I lived while volunteering for a non-profit organization, is one of the most unassuming city I have ever been to. By most standards, Vientiane the capital of Laos and the largest city in the country doesn't feel like a city at all. It has a small-town feel and no hustle bustle or big-city treats. Once you are in Vientiane, time slows down to a trickle and that's a "big" city. In rural areas time can virtually come to a standstill. But that's the appeal of Laos, its unflustered and unhurried attitude. So sip a glass of Beer Lao, a local (and only) favorite, and enjoy watching the world go by.

10/18/2007 8:03:44 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

The term social entrepreneurship has become increasingly popular in recent years as more universities worldwide are initialing programs that educate future social entrepreneurs and as more firms are established with business model that has positive social impacts. From Wikipedia, the term social entrepreneurship is defined as "a work of a social entrepreneur who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change." One pioneering organization that embodies such principle is Digital Divide Data (DDD), an IT outsourcing and digitization organization with a social mission of providing economic development to the local communities in Laos and Cambodia. For the last 3 months, it was a privilege for me to be volunteering at their office in Vientiane, Laos (which explains my absence at my blog due to my busy schedule).

On the surface, DDD functions very much like a profit-driven company. Operations are based and sales derived from digitization and data processing services that the organization provides. But to say that DDD is a commercial venture is not entirely true. Registered as a non-profit organization, DDD still depends on donations for good reason and cause. The organization continues to initiate many social-economic programs that improve the lives of the local communities, especially the disabled people. DDD established free education courses in English and other business subjects to the local communities. In a country where there is a general lack of talents, such programs do and have made large impact to the local economy. This model of balancing between both social and commercial objectives works is based out of an old Chinese proverb "Give a man a fish, feed mim for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime." DDD often provides possible employment to the students after graduation from DDD. Ultimately, the social goal for DDD is, whether a person stays or leaves the organization, he/she will undoubtedly end up as a productive contributor to his/her country economy and improving his/her life -- hence "feeding" him/her for a lifetime.

10/9/2007 11:47:47 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Social

After days of "cleaning," cropping, tagging, and organizing, I am pleased to announce that the photos from my recent dive trip to Sipadan are finally available for viewing on . Since some of you asked, the photo collection from the previous dive trip to Manado is also available here.

Slideshows to these photo collections:

• Sipadan 2007
• Manado 2006

8/4/2007 5:31:27 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Scuba Diving

Our stay at Seaventures, an oil rig that has been converted to a dive resort, was very pleasant. When I first looked into diving and accommodation at Sipadan , Seaventures was recommended by some who had stayed there before. The rate for staying and diving at Seaventures is cheaper than other resorts around Sipadan (except those in Semporna, but the downside is the hour long boat ride from to Sipadan). Ultimately, it is the novelty of staying and diving from an oil rig is that what drove me to select Seaventures. And that was a decision I didn't regret.

When we first arrived at Seaventures after a 45 minute boat ride from Semporna, we were greeted by a big elevator which was lowered from the upper main deck to pick the passengers from the boat. The whole platform is raised about 15m above sea level. The main deck houses the dinning area, diving station, a part of the staff quarter, and offices. The area where the drill tower normally resides has been converted to a dinning area where guests come not only have their meals but to socialize and relax. Dinning tables dot the most of the area with a few sunbathing chairs and sofas on the edge. Three meals are served at the dinning area everyday. Similar to a typical live aboard, water, coffee, tea, and other hot beverages along with light snacks like bread and biscuit are available for free every time. Beer and soft drinks cost extra. The dishes served for lunch and dinner are mostly Malaysian and very delicious. Adjacent to the dinning area is the diving station where the real action takes place. It is here the divers get geared up for their dives. While the rental equipment there aren't in tip top condition, they are functional -- but then again, I have yet to find a dive operator that offers immaculate rental equipment. One thing that I appreciate from Seaventures ground staff is the quality of their filled air. The resort director Joe had indicated to me that the center change the air filter in the air compressor regularly to ensure that the filled air in their tanks is clean, making it more pleasant for divers to breathe underwater. The rooms at Seaventures are like, well, living quarters of an oil rig. Each room has an air conditioner and bathroom. Nothing extravagant but functionally comfortable.

At Seaventures, you can dive as many times as you want -- limited by your surface intervals -- in the waters immediately below the oil rig between the hours of 6am to 8pm daily. But house dives can be boring as the area around the rig is quite devoid of interesting marine life. Much better dives are found in nearby Mabul, which arguably has the best muck diving in the area, and slightly further Sipadan. Nonetheless, you can't beat the convenience of diving right from the oil rig -- just don the scuba gear and jump right in. In the day, Seaventures organizes day trips to these islands. Divers are ferried on speed boats. Boat ride to Sipadan and Mabul take about twenty minutes and one minute respectively. A typical diving schedule in the day is as follows: two dives at Sipadan in the morning, then back to Seaventures for lunch, followed by an optional house dive on your own accord, and finally a dive in Mabul in late afternoon. Because there are no organized boat trips in the evening, you do house dives. Alternatively, you can charter a boat for 250 MYR (Malaysian Ringgit), which can be split among interested divers, to ferry you and fellow divers to dive in nearby Kalapai or Mabul.

Most of the divers I met at Seaventures were experienced divers. In fact, several professional dive masters and dive instructors from other various dive resorts across S. E. Asia were taking vacation at Seaventures while I was there -- that's right, diving professionals taking diving vacation. Nonetheless, this doesn't mean that the dive resort only caters to experienced divers. But being a world renown dive location, Sipadan seems to attract the more hardcore divers. The local staff at Seaventures are cordial and competent. Our dive master is the ever genial Eve (pronounced as duo syllabi E-Vi). Always cheerful, we practically heard her laughter even underwater.

While it wasn't my best dive vacation, I did had a good time at Seaventures. If staying and diving form an oil rig appeals you, then this affordable sea resort with a down-to-earth attitude is definitely the place to stay when you are at Sipadan.

8/2/2007 11:48:49 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Scuba Diving

First there was Jacques Cousteau who declared diving around the island of Sipadan superb. Then there were several dive magazines, including Rodale's Scuba Diving and SkinDiver, that named Sipadan as one of the top dive sites in the world. Indeed, I have been itching to visit Sipadan ever since I heard about these broad accolades. Last week, I had my wish fulfilled.

I waited this long to dive Sipadan was due in part of logistics. Getting to Sipadan in the past was a journey itself. The closest airport to Sipadan is Tawau. In the past, you had to fly to Kota Kinabalu or Kuala Lumpur first before transferring a flight to Tawau. Alternatively, one can take a bus there cheaply but the downside is the 8-hour long road trip. While there is still no direct flight from Singapore to Tawau, getting to Sipadan today is made considerably easier with the advent of Air Asia. This Malaysian-owned, low-cost airline has added a flight route from Johor Bahru to Tawau. Getting to Johor Bahru Senai International Airport (JHB) from Singapore does require a bit of effort. Fortunately, Wikitravel provides quite a detailed article on traveling from Singapore to JHB . If you wish to travel by taxi, then you have to take a Malaysian-registered taxi, which can go anywhere in Malaysia, at the Malaysian taxi station at Queen Street in Singapore. The taxi fare from Singapore to JHB is S$55 (Singapore Dollars). From the opposite direction, the taxi ride from JHB to Singapore is more expensive. You will have to purchase a taxi voucher in the JHB terminal for RM160 (Malaysian Riggit), which is roughly equivalent to S$70, before presenting the voucher to a taxi usher outside who will then direct you to a taxi to take you over the border. Actually, taking the bus from JHB is a much cheaper alternative and it isn't as difficult as it seems. Here is a rough guide to the bus ride from JHB to Singapore. One thing to keep in mind is that the traffic at the border (or commonly known as The Causeway to the locals) is horrendously bad during rush hour, so allow ample leeway in your travel schedule.

No-frills Air Asia	Tawau airport terminal

Once you are in JHB, the rest of the journey to Sipadan is actually quite easy. Boarding an AirAsia flight is pretty straightforward. I find the experience similar to that of RyanAir: straightforward and no-frills. Since most dive operators in Sipadan will offer to pick divers from Tawau airport for free, you can expect someone to receive you once you step out of the terminal. From Tawau, it takes about an hour to get to Semporna, a fishing village and gateway to Sipadan. If you haven't booked for accommodation in advance, taking a taxi to Semporna from Tawau airport is the other viable choice. In Semporna, you have several choices for accommodation. You could stay in Semporna and do day-trips to Sipadan or stay at one of the many dive resorts found in nearby islands of Sipadan. On the first night, we stayed at Dragon Inn, which isn't bad at all. However, the walls there aren't soundproofed, so just make sure you don't stay next to someone who sings loudly or is noisy. If you stay in Semporna, the boat ride from Semporna to Sipadan is about one hour. Staying in nearby islands like Mabul, Kalapai, and Mataking can dramatically cut your boat ride to Sipadan by another 30 to 40 minutes depending on the speed of the boat. For the rest of our trip, we stayed at Seaventures, an oil rig that has been converted to a dive resort. They provide not just accommodation but all meals, transportation, and air tanks for diving. In my next post, I will focus on my diving experience in Sipadan.

Seaventures - the oil rig converted dive resort	The area in seaventures where our scuba gears are stored

7/31/2007 11:45:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Scuba Diving

Here is a sample (the top 12) of the photos I took from the dive trip to Sipadan last week. I will upload the rest of the photos to Flickr and write a blog about the trip later.

Chromodoris annae (nudibranch)	A nudibranch (4 cm)
Clown fish Finding Nemo... There he is.	Unidentified fish (6 cm) I can probably identify this fish, but at the moment of writing, I am just too lazy. Let's just call it the upside down fish.
Frogfish (6 cm)	Clown frogfish (5 cm)
Tube anemone	Sea anemone
Phyllidiopsis Fissuratus	A school of jacks This school is small (but it is the best picture I got) compared to the much bigger ones which I have seen, literally thousands of jacks swimming in a tornado formation. It was bewildering to watch.
Green sea turtle (close-up) There are so many sea turtles in Sipadan.	Another green sea turtle

7/30/2007 1:22:55 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Scuba Diving

It's been a while since I last blogged. After S. Korea, I traveled to the wonderful island of Singapore where I stayed for the next three weeks before heading to Malaysia last week for some scuba-diving. I spent most of my time in Singapore catching up with friends and family. My stay there is mostly uneventful so I am regret to say that there are no entertaining stories of the unusual culinary (although Singaporeans, too, have learned to eat about anything) or peering over a militarized border. Nonetheless, I did enjoy my time there.

Singapore offers a treasure trove of best tasting cuisines in the world with most dishes that are found uniquely in that country. As a foodie, Singapore is my food paradise and indulging in a culinary adventure in the country was my only way of truly exploring this country. I ate roti prata (also known as roti canai in Malaysia) growing up but in this visit, I found that food vendors have become creative in recent years by adding new toppings like chocolate, garlic, and cheese to this pancake dish. In particular, my favorite "nouveau" Roti Prata dish is one with cheese and mushrooms as flavorings -- it is so heavenly delicious. Equally intriguing, is another "nouveau" roti prata dish called tissue prata. This is where the pancake is made "tissue" thin and served with powder sugar or condensed milk sprinkled all over. But all pratas pale in comparison (in terms of creativity) with the one I tasted in Lau Pa Sat in the financial district of Singapore. I walked past the food stand the other day and couldn't resist passing over the allure of the Hawaiian Murtabak, a roti prata dish filled with chicken, pineapple, and cheese. It was delightfully tasty. By now, you would wonder if roti prata is similar to pizza. In many ways, both dishes are similar with two notable exceptions. First, roti prata is pan-fried while pizza is oven-baked. Second, roti prata is to be dipped with an absolutely delicious chicken curry whereas pizza is filled with tomato sauce. Next favorite dish of mine is the Hainanese Chicken Rice (wow, there's actually an entry of this dish on Wikipedia). After all these years, I still crave and unquestionably seek for chicken rice dish whenever I am in Singapore. Next dish on the list is Lor Mee, another locally-evolved noodle dish served with a thick broth topped with seafood. Good tasting Lor Mee has a gravy-like broth that is neither overbearing or bland in taste. Of course, I always slurp loudly when eating this dish. Alright, I have babbled enough about food. Next blog posting: my trip to Sipadan, Malaysia.

7/29/2007 11:51:15 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

What happens when 2 well-intended, creative ads are unfortunately placed together? The result is often out of nowhere hilarious. Here is a list of top 15 unfortunately placed ads (thanks to digg for the link). I was lol (laughing out loud) when I saw those ads.

7/17/2007 10:58:26 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Humor

One of the highlights of my trip to Korea is a visit to the Korean DMZ. This is a 4-km wide buffer zone that divides Korea into the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). Created at the end of the Korean War, this expanse serves as one of the front-lines of the Cold War. Technically, North and South Korea are still at war since there has not been a peace treaty signed, just a cease-fire. The Korean DMZ remains to be the tensest and most-armed front in the world. Before the trip, my better imagination had always thought that the Korean DMZ as a heavily-fortified, barren land, much like the Western Front in World War I. The zone perimeter on both sides are indeed heavily-fortified and the 4-km wide DMZ itself is armed with land mines. But the landscape is certainly not barren. On the contrary, the DMZ has become somewhat a natural sanctuary to migratory birds from Siberia due to non-human activities in the area for the last 50 years. The DMZ looks like the picture shown below.

The Korean DMZ, an unspoilt wildlife refuge

Since the Korean War technically is still ongoing, I am somewhat surprised that tourists are allowed to visit the Joint Security Area (JSA), the only area which the South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face. This area was originally designated as a neutral zone within the Korean DMZ where a restricted number of soldiers from both sides share control of the area and leaders from both sides engaged in diplomatic talks. But numerous provocations and conflicts ensued after its establishment and finally after the egregious Axe Murder incident, the area is now divided into South and North Korean administered sections. The cement slabs in the photo below shows the diving line in the JSA. The gravel ground is in South Korea and the clay ground in North Korea. There are two blue buildings (also known as Military Armistice Commission or MAC Conference Room) in the JSA, which straddles the border, serves as actual meeting areas for diplomatic talks from both sides. They are the only places in the JSA where one can cross over the line and for a moment claim "Hey look, I am in North Korea."

The dividing line in JSA

Before being allowed to set foot into the DMZ, we were briefed by military personnel on rules like don't provoke the Korean People's Army (KPA), don't defect, don't at any circumstances point your finger, no picture taking in certain places, and such. Also, all tourists entering the DMZ must sign a release of liability form, which states in part: "The visit to the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom will entail entry into a hostile area and possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action." (taken from Wikipedia).

After the briefing, we were escorted by military personnel to the JSA. The first stop is the area where the main administrative buildings, including the MAC conference rooms, are located. A sense of quietness and tension fills the air there with, ironically, the presence of tourists livening the place up somewhat. Sometimes I wonder if tourist presence makes the South Korean sentries more relived or nervous? After snapping some pictures, we walked in twos back to the tour bus (driven by a military personnel) where we proceeded to our next destination: a hilltop atop of the JSA. From this hilltop, we can see the Bridge of No Return, the so-called the Loneliest Outpost in the World (due to a string of kidnappings of ROK sentries by the KPA in the past), and across the border, North Korea. Looking across the border, there is the conspicuous 160-meter tall flagpole with a 600 pound North Korean flag -- the tallest flagpole in the world -- barely flapping in the Siberian wind. A while back, both the South and North Koreans were competing on building the tallest flagpole in their bordering villages. Taller and taller flagpoles were built until the North Korean finally built this behemoth flagpole. After taking some pictures at this site, we boarded the bus and rode back to Seoul, which amazingly is located some 30 miles from the DMZ.

A North Korean watch tower

A South Korean sentry

If you are ever in Seoul for the first time, the tour of the DMZ and JSA is definitely worthwhile.

7/11/2007 3:54:52 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

When I lived in Boston, I got to know many people whom were originally from S. Korea. I was hoping to meet with some of them when I visited Korea. Unfortunately (or fortunately for their specific cases), all my Korean friends remained in the U.S. for work or education. All except for Ducksea, a Sloanie, who returned to S. Korea and is now working as a senior manager at Samsung. Ducksea and I were in the same term project team for Disruptive Technology, a technology/competitive strategy at MIT Sloan. During our collaboration, Ducksea had repeatedly told me to look him up if I am ever in Seoul. So with hesitation, I contacted him when I was in Seoul last week (I left Seoul yesterday).

When I met Ducksea for dinner at the lobby of Samsung main building in Seoul, he appeared as I had expected, clean-shaved and not least in a nice suit and tie (like any Korean businessman of his stature). When asked the kind of food I want to have for dinner, I didn't pause to suggest Korean barbecue. And why not, who can resist the multi-sensory (smell, sight, and taste) pleasures of Korean barbecue. Ducksea took me to a nearby Korean barbecue restaurant where we not only enjoyed a wonderful meal of grilled sirloin beef, but good soju, a Korean equivalent of sake (rice wine). In fact, soju and Korean barbecue go hand in hand. Everywhere I go in Seoul, I see people drinking soju with their food. In Korea, when drinking with a party, it is considered polite to pour soju to other people glasses in your party before yours -- never pour you own drink, it is considered rude.

During our conversation, Ducksea revealed to me that one thing that he miss about Boston is Boston's own locally brewed beer, Samuel Adams. He lamented that he still hasn't found a place in Seoul that serves Samuel Adams and that in hindsight he should have asked me to bring him a six-pack of his favorite beer from Boston. I then told him that if he could take me to a bar that serves a imported beers, I might be able to find a good Samuel Adams substitute. After dinner, we went to Texas, a bar that serves over 50 beers from around the world. The closest beer that I could find resembling Samuel Adams in taste was Newcastle Brown Ale. It didn't come cheap though -- a bottle of it costed about 13,000 Won (almost US$14). Ducksea liked it as it is the closest beer to Samuel Adams he have tasted in Korea. We departed ways after a few rounds of drinking at the bar. It was good meeting with Ducksea again. Hey Ducksea, if you are reading this: thanks for all the food, alcohol, and the gift (that was nice of you to do that). I wish you success.

7/3/2007 12:10:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels