Menglembu

Menglembu is a little town situated in the state of Perak, Malaysia. It is right at the foot of the famous Kledang Hills and famous for its peanuts. Menglembu was established in 1950 where it was populated by the Hakka people who worked in the mines. In the olden days, cows were raised to pull bullock carts as their mode of transport. Hence, the name "Menglembu". Lembu means cow in the Malay langauge.

I was most disappointed in this particular trip because firstly, there was not a single cow to be seen, tail and all. Secondly, the peanut factories were closed on weekends. Hmmmmm.

However we landed in the most "happening" Sunday market ever. Traders were yelling for customers to buy their produce/products....it was pretty chaotic. In the midst of the yelling and talking at the top of their lungs, we came across this little darling bakery. Of course I was curious. Of course I had to find out what they were making. Kaya puffs! The lady said to me, "Wait for 2 minutes ya and a new batch will be ready."

In addition, a monk, Yes, A MONK, whistled at me in the market! What cheekiness. Well I was cheeky back. I told him he was going to hell for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kaya puffs

A busy Sunday in Menglembu

A very very active lil town!

Oh, this is Honeycomb sugar which was made of honey, chrysanthemums and wheatgerm. Caught our attention alright.

Wantan noodles at market's food court

A delicious beef and ginger ball

Coffee in Menglembu is a little too diluted to my liking.

A happy Hubs who found "Soo Chai Choi" or "Sayur Manis" which is our favorite but very difficult to find in West Malaysia. Every single time we go back to Sabah, this veggie would be our first target. I cannot take this man to any market, really! He gets all excited and buys literally everything he misses!!!!

Found these quacks right at the back of an old kopitiam. Haha they were happily roasting the morning away.

Trompe L'oeil Murals of Hanoi

I honestly don't know what this street or these murals are actually called as I believed they are not very well-knowned yet. However I was happy enough that I managed to add this street into Tripadvisor (I am an active reviewer there) so that the world can view these beautiful murals and encouraged others to review them too.

It is known as Trompe L'oeil Murals of Hanoi (in Google). "Trompe L'oeil" means visual illusion in art as in 3D art. This street art or life-size murals was a collaborative effort between Vietnam and Korea to commemorate their diplomatic relationship.

The murals start from 27 Phùng Hưng, Hàng Mã, Hoàn Kiếm and extend northward along the road until its intersection with Hàng Cót. And, they were painted on railway archers. Great site for photography!

I called this an Awesome but Gruesome street!!!!!!

Because.....right opposite these beautiful murals are stalls selling roasted doggies!!!!!!!!

Imagine my expression when I suddenly realized what the queue of people were lining up for. Waiting for their turn to purchase a packet or two of dog meat. I gathered up my courage to go nearer so that I could take come closer shots of the dogs, even though feeling nauseous. Oh yeah, I lost my appetite, at first for that whole day (or so I thought), then I noticed whenever I thought about the scene, I could not eat a single thing. I guess what I have seen, I cannot unsee. I will have to learn to deal with my thoughts.

 

 

Sung Sot Cave, Halong Bay

One of the new 7 natural wonders of the world, situated in the center of the UNESCO-declared World Heritage Site area, Sung Sot cave is on Bo Hon Island, Halong Bay. It is also known as the Surprise Cave or Surprise Grotto.

Initially discovered by the French in 1901. They named it "Grotto des Surprises"

Interesting History:
From 520 - 470 million BC, Halong Bay was subjected to intense tectonic plate movements together with severe rainfall and floods which caused the formation of the underwater mountains. Then millions of years after, Halong Bay experienced a period of drought. The change in weather patterns contributed to the emergence of limestone formations that we all get to enjoy today.

First stop after climbing 100 or so steps. Gotta take a breather here and pictures, of course!

Okay, down we go to witness limestone formations from 500 million years ago! The steps were uneven and slippery. Thank goodness for good shoes.

Got to pass through a narrow tunnel into the bigger chamber.

That looked like a huge erect penis to me!!!!!

Pretty romantic part inside the cave

On the way out of the cave

Phew!!!

Last flight of steps outside the cave towards the pier

 Sung Sot Cave from the pier

This is Hubs and I, after climbing about 700 steps up and down and out of the cave. Sure felt like 7000!