Most of us know that Singapore is a very clean country. There are laws to help keep it that way like no littering and gum chewing.
In a country so clean you should expect people to know how to wash their hands. I was definitely surprised to see these signs in multiple places. One thing I did learn (from the sign above) was that you can reduce your germ count by up to 99%. To accomplish this you need to wash your hands for 30 seconds with soap and water.
I’m always on the lookout for authentic and local hats to add to my collection.
While visiting Kuala Lumpur, I came across a hat that I had to buy before leaving Malaysia.
Here is the story about how I came across it and went on a little adventure to find it.
After stopping by the Petronas Towers (to buy tickets for a visit to the Sky Bridge & Observation Deck for the following day) we decided to check out the Suria KLCC Shopping Center. The main purpose of the visit was to stop by the food court which we had read about in our guide book.
While our main reason for visiting the Suria was to try the food, we also stopped by a few of the stores. One of them sold local clothing and things of that sort. I tried on a hat that we had seen some locals wearing but it was pretty expensive. I chatted a bit with the clerk and was told how it was a very popular hat among the locals.
Continue reading Searching For A Songkok- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Continue reading A Shocking Collection Of Oddities: The Kunstkamera- St Petersburg, Russia
During our trip I had to visit the very first McDonald’s to open in Soviet era Russia.The location opened in Moscow in 1990 and I remember it being major news due to the lines of people that went on for blocks, all wanting to get inside for a taste. This was one of the first stops we made during the trip. (Read a recap about our stay in Moscow HERE.)
I rarely eat McDonald’s at home but always try to check them out while traveling. One of my top things to do while abroad is try local food but sometimes it feels good to walk into a place and pretty much know what to expect both price and taste wise (plus McDonald’s pretty much always has free Wifi). One of the main highlights for me is seeing what items are offered that differ from the McD’s at home. I always try to get a menu item that seems to have a local feel. Continue reading A Visit To The First McDonald’s In Russia
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| Cat Museum |
Our trip to Russia started off with an interesting visit to Moscow. We just got home from the trip and it’s time for a recap from our time in Saint Petersburg.
We flew from Moscow to St Petersburg on Oneworld member S7 Airlines. We booked the flight using British Airways Avios points and had a little problem at check in. When we got to the counter, we were told that Lucas was not listed as a lap baby. This was definitely strange since I called BA a bunch of times and was told that he was added. I am not sure what caused the problem but luckily one of the S7 representatives spoke a bit of English and was able to help fix the problem. Otherwise the flight went well and S7 even served a small snack box for our short one hour plus flight.
Our hotel, Park Inn Nevsky was in a great location and an excellent choice for our visit to Saint Petersburg. There is a train station less than 2 minutes away and buses are easy to catch (within a 5 minute walk) on the Nevsky Prospect, the main street in St Petersburg. Our room was a decent size and well worth it’s price. The rate also included breakfast.
Saint Petersburg was a nice change of pace from Moscow. One positive was that the it wasn’t as cold or snowy. It is a walk-able city with many sites in close proximity to each other. I really loved seeing the canals and impressive architecture all around. If you need to take the train, signs are written in Russian as well as English which makes them much easier for tourists to navigate through and figure out. The city had a very European vibe, more so than the cold feeling of Moscow.
Some Highlights:
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| St. Basil’s Cathedral |
We’re pretty much done with our trip to Russia and currently in Saint Petersburg. I’ve been so busy and tired that I haven’t had a chance to write about our trip so far.
We also noticed that Russia seems to love American fast food chains. We saw locations of McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and a few others around the city.
Last week I wrote a post about Lucas liking Vanilla. I started thinking some more about Vanilla and it reminded me of something that I saw on my trip to Germany years back.
My brother and I went to Germany and had a great time in Munich and Cologne. We tried out lots of great beers in massive beer halls and visited lots of amazing sites.
While thinking about Vanilla I was reminded of a really bizarre building that we had came across in Cologne. The building had an upside down vanilla ice cream cone on the roof!
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Continue reading Years Back, I Found Some Vanilla In Germany
On Day 1 of our trip to Louisville & Nashville I had mentioned that we visited a few quirky sites like the Happy Birthday To You Plaque. I had read about the plaque online and didn’t just happen to come across it.
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We had read that the plaque was located under the entrance ramp to I-64 so we decided to wander around and look for it. The entrance ramp description was a bit confusing. After a couple of minutes looking around, we found it. The plaque was pretty small and located across the street from the ramp. Continue reading Happy Birthday To You Plaque- Louisville, KY
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| Colombia National Police Helmet |
During our trip to Colombia (a few years back), Kim and I spent a few days in Bogota.
We both really liked the city and would’ve liked a bit more time there.
We visited a few museums in Bogota including the National Police Museum.
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The museum was really interesting. There were lots of displays featuring various gear and weapons used by the police over the years. There was also a lot of space devoted to Pablo Escobar, the infamous cocaine drug lord. The best part of the museum is that admission is free and you are given a private tour by a young, local guide serving their mandatory one year of service with the police.The guides seemed to be enjoying their jobs and told us they were happy to have people to practice their English with.
When we left the museum, we saw lots of small shops selling police paraphernalia.
Continue reading An Awesome Souvenir: Policia Nacional Helmet- Colombia
Last July Kim, Lucas and I headed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania due to the Stay 1, Get 1 promotion from Club Carlson. We had a lot of options to earn our bonuses for Radisson and Country Inn.
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With not too many Park Inn’s around the U.S. we had to figure out which Park Inn was closest to home. We ended up booking two nights (one in each of our names) at the Park Inn Harrisburg West.
Harrisburg isn’t exactly a glamorous city but we found plenty to do and had a nice time during our visit.
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania so we had to stop by the Capitol Building to check it out.
When we arrived, the Capitol was already closed for the day. I was hoping to get inside and do a tour but that wasn’t going to happen this time.
I was a bit bummed that I couldn’t see inside but still found the building to be really impressive. The green tiled dome, which I read is made of terra cotta was an amazing site to see. It is topped by a 14.5 foot statue called Commonwealth. The fountain at the back of the building was also really fun to watch.
The Pennsylvania State Capitol was worth visiting, even if we could only view it from the outside. It also made for a great place for a jump!
