Latest happening in Melaka

Melaka has just celebrated Chinese New Year where major tourist spots were filled with tourists and locals alike. There were large crowds at Stadthuys, Dataran Pahlawan Mahkota Parade, Jonkers' Walk and people were seen taking the open top Panorama buses and river cruises.

For shoppers, new kids on the block were Mydin Hypermarket at Melaka Bazaar located at Melaka Sentral (this hypermarket is opened 24 hours) and 3-floors Carrefour Melaka at Dataran Pahlawan.

Then, we have newly opened Aldy Hotel Chinatown at Jalan Bunga Raya and Jalan Munshi Abdullah junction at Melaka New Chinatown and Melaka's first boutique hotel, Majestic Hotel,Malacca at the end of Jalan Bunga Raya. Another boutique hotel has her ground breaking ceremony at the mouth of Melaka River recently and will be opened in end 2011.

For those interested to view and enjoy the Melaka River walk, you will be surprised to see that the Melaka River water is clean for once. You will not be able to see the muddy water of yesteryears. Maybe, it has been due to the new barrage at the river mouth which stops the sea water to move upstream when high tide occurs. Before, the sea water with the muddy silt travels up the Melaka River when there is high tide. Now, the barrage has stopped this occurrence and kept the river full all the day. Another benefit of this is that can now be operated daily,daytime and at night and they are getting popular with visitors.

To be opened soon will be the "Melaka Tower" which visitors can view Melaka City above 110 metres via a rotating cabin.

Melaka open top Panorama red double decker buses and the colourful "becas" are must try events and everyone is excited about riding these buses and becas.

So, if you want to visit Melaka, there are certainly various activities for everyone. Melaka has history, historical sites, museums, river walks and sea & sea cruises, food, shopping, cultures and friendly Malaccans to be your hosts.

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Food in Bangkok, Thailand

Photograph: Edward Freeman/Getty

Authentic market food
Or Tor Kor (OTK) market (Thanon Kamphaengphet, Chatuchak Park underground) is slightly gentrified but it hasn't lost its edge, it's clean and damn gorgeous. There is stall upon stall of delicious desserts, tasty sausages, delectable soups and noodles; it's hard not to eat well. I like the slightly fermented pork sausage, sai grop - its name means crispy intestine, but that belies how sumptuous it is, cooked slowly over charcoal. There are two stalls in particular that do a good job of it; slightly sour with garlic, ginger, chillies and green papaya. I couldn't pinpoint exactly where they are, you'll have to explore and try yourself - not such a hard task. The fish dumpling soup at the Suan Lum night market makes you nod your head with pleasure.

Breakfast time
Thais love tea. They have their tea with everything, even with their coffee; if you ask for water, you'll get tea, just to prove it's been boiled. But have coffee with deep-fried Chinese bread at an early morning market. It tastes of chicory and chocolate powder; it's completely wrong - commercial, chemical and wonderful.

Street credibility
Walk through Bangkok and it's clear that work is just something that gets in the way of eating. The most accessible food in Bangkok is street food. Food stalls outnumber pedestrians and streets can seem not so much thoroughfares as corridors lined with places to buy food. The markets can be a bit rough - rude, abrupt and daunting - but you will smack your lips in pleasure when trying the robust dishes.

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My Snowboarding Hotel

I always loved snowboarding for as long as I can remember. I love the way that snow boarding is a sport that is filled with excitement and personality. I also loved the way that snow boarding was seen as a kind of extreme sport. It made me feel almost proud of myself that I was associated with this status. When I firstly hit the slopes and tried snowboarding it was actually a very new sport at the time, and had not even nearly been in the Olympics.

However, as the trend increased the slopes started to change its ratio of skiing to snowboarding. That is why I wanted to start a business that could benefit from this; I decided on starting a hotel in France that was actually targeting the snowboarders rather than the skiers. You see, the snow boarder and the skier are two very different kind of holiday maker. A snow boarder is more likely to be interested in having a great time, and socialising with younger people, whilst a skier may be away as part of a family vacation.

However, I realised that my business was going to be a risky venture because at the same time as I started it, I was scared that snowboarding might not take off in the way that it has. I mean – did you know that know 22% of winter sports competitors are snowboarders? That is an amazing statistic and one that really indicates the kind of thing that I am talking about. Snow boarding is a massive sport, and I actually do not think there has been any other sport in the history of the world that has seen such success in such a short period of time.

I should say the success of my hotel has been enormous, because I have been warm and comforting to the snowboarders, showing knowledge on the slopes and snowboarding in general. I am able to tell them what I would do, and give them some hot tips that have been passed on to me from hundreds and hundreds of snow boarders through my hotel.

One of the things that I love the most is the way that everyone is always having a good time, and that can reflect on my mood. When everyone in the hotel is enjoying themselves and having a good time, it is easier for me to sit back and have a good time as well. It really is that simple.

I am always asked by the snowboarders if I go on the slopes myself, and I always have to say no, almost appearing like I am a kind of half-interested snowboarder. I almost feel my head dropping as I say it. However, the reason for this is that nowadays, I honestly very rarely have any spare time, and it is the sad part of having my own business. My wife always offers to cover, but when she does I always see it as a great opportunity to go down the bank, or do something like catch up with the paper work.

When I think about how busy I am I always just stop and think about how lucky I am to have a successful business, and a comfortable living – however my passion for snowboarding that gave me the kick start to get the business underway has now gone.

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Skiing In Aviemore

Aviemore is based in the highlands of Scotland, with impressive mountain views, and surrounded by country-side it stands 26,000 feet above rural farmland. The area is renowned for skiing, having recently had 2 European Level Competitions on its snowy peaks in the last two months. The ski resorts success, with professional skiing has also lead to success with tourists, having 12,000 people hitting the slopes each month. These massive numbers are also attributed to snowboarding, with boarding specific slaloms on one side of the mountains.

Aviemore recently commissioned a $4 Million state of the art ski lift that can travel up to 25 miles per hour, withstand winds in excess of 110 miles per hour, and has a total weight of 450 tonnes. The amazing structure travels over 15 miles and is certainly an amazing sight for any avid skier. Aviemore’s tourist based facilities are also highly impressive with 900 square feet, and a verging patio area that looks down the 26,000 feet mountain face.

Aviemore is an unfortunate to only have snow for 7 months in the year, ruling it out of hosting some of the worlds greatest competitions, and really placing Scotland up their with France, Switzerland and now Bulgaria as one the top skiing destinations around the world. The skiing destination has recently hosted the snowboarding world freestyle championships, where the facility had to compete with many countries where the sport has far greater uptake than in Scotland. Scotland’s success would have came as a result of many factors, however it was said that the accommodation facilities were said to be significantly more robust than other countries that had placed similar bids.

With a thriving economy that survives largely of the tourism industry, Aviemore had the facilities to bed over 10,000 people a night, significantly higher than any other bid. The reasons for this was largely down to its proximity to a local town that was also able to provide bed and breakfast accommodation, which ensured that more tickets could be sold, and exposure maximised. Despite this, only 21% of ticket buyers were Scottish, leaving the rest of the 79% to fly in from around the world.

The success of the tournament has lead to speculation of Aviemore building on its initial success to host more tournaments in the coming years, and with this the value of property has risen and the hotel industry is also becoming savvy to the prospect of high demand in the area. The Aviemore mountains have an average gradient that well exceeds most skiing locations in the west of Europe making Aviemore the place to visit for a European Skiing trip, providing the time of year is correct.

With only 7 months snow, Aviemore is considering a contained facility, where it will continue to provide skiing and snowboarding indoors. The thought of this, also would raise ideas and suggestions as to how they intend to go about this, and on what scale? Would they be looking to compete with the indoor facilities in Berlin, or would they be looking for something basic? The fact is, speculation as to a large scale indoor facility is mounting, and this is certainly something that would benefit the hotel industry in the area that is growing rapidly, however experiences a less-busy spell for 5 months in the year where Aviemore is in no condition to allow snowboarders or skiers to hit the slopes. Despite this freestyle snowboarding still continues, where the snow is artificially maintained in a half-pipe with which the snowboarders can practice and perfect tricks in a similar way to skateboarders.

If you have never been to Aviemore then I recommend you visit, whether or not you are a skier. The fact is, the views are amazing, the fresh clear air is refreshing and the people are fantastic. If you have never skied before, then what better place to learn than Aviemore.

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