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Disney Baltic Cruise

I would like to explain what my family and I did each day as we enjoyed our family vacation aboard the Disney Magic;

Day 1; We arrived at the port in Copenhagen, Denmark around 1:00pm, though you can board as early as 11am. We gave ourselves 3 hours to board (the ship sets sail at 4pm) so that we could explore Copenhagen before we left on our vacation. This day included us exploring the boat and signing up for kids clubs. One of the amazing things about Disney, is their kids clubs. They have rooms for different aged kids to go hang out in, participate in activities and make new friends. This gives parents a chance to have some time alone and know their children are safe and having fun. After exploring the boat, everyone came together at Deck 9 to set sail and have fun during “Mickey’s Sailing Away Party.” During this, everyone waves to the passengers staying in Copenhagen & dances along with Mickey & his friends on stage. Once this is over, we headed to the 6:30pm theater show. Depending on the dinner time you request (6:00pm or 8:30pm) you will either watch the theater show at 6:30pm or 8:30pm, the opposite time that your eating dinner. I absolutely love the shows. Disney does an amazing job coming up with themes and special acts to entertain their audience. Continue reading “Disney Baltic Cruise”

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Pongal: A Tamil Festival of Showing Gratitude to Cattle and Sun

Introduction: Pongal

Pongal is a harvest festival in Tamil Nadu, the south most state of India. It is also known as “Thai Pongal”. The word ‘Thai’ is one of the months name in Tamil language. In general, people across the state reap crops cultivated in their own lands in January of every year. Then they celebrate the Pongal to convey their gratitude to the Sun and Cattle those who helped for cultivation. There is a famous quote in Tamil Language called “thai piranthaal vazhi pirakkum” which means “all the good things will start to happen once the month Thai (January) begins / Every problem will be resolved in a good way.”

Four-Day festival

Thai Pongal is a four-day festival. Namely Bogi, Thai Pongal, Perumpongal/Mattu Pongal and Karinaal.

First Day: Bogi – people celebrate bogi by burning old clothes and dresses Continue reading “Pongal: A Tamil Festival of Showing Gratitude to Cattle and Sun”

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Quirky Delicacies of South East Asia

Frog’s legs in France, huhu grubs in New Zealand, every country has its own version of a wild food. South East Asia is no exception, with an extraordinary number of exciting dishes that lure huge numbers of tourists every year – and send just as many running for the hills.

Whatever your take on exotic foods, South East Asia has a fascinating array of choices, from toasted tarantulas to snake heart shots.

Join me on an insider’s peek into the quirky delicacies of South East Asia, and what this culinary adventure destination has to offer.

Tarantula Kebabs in Cambodia

Crispy, crunchy legs, delicate white flesh – you could be forgiven for expecting lobster, not tarantula. This Khmer street food has rapidly gained popularity with the extreme eaters in the tourist circuit, despite having been eaten in Cambodia for a long time. It is thought they date back to the Khmer Rouge ruling when food became scarce, and locals took to frying up any source of protein that they could get their hands on.

Continue reading “Quirky Delicacies of South East Asia”

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Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant in Bonita Springs, Florida

Hidden away in the posh Promenade shopping center in Bonita Springs is Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion restaurant. For over eight years Roy’s restaurant has been one of the premier destinations for special event dining in Southwest Florida. Birthdays. Engagements. Anniversaries. Graduations. Promotions. Whether you’re welcoming someone home, sending someone off, celebrating your last day of a Florida vacation, or just want an all-around exceptional meal…Roy’s in Bonita Springs has cultivated an enduring legacy as the ultimate place to enjoy vibrant food and celebrate special moments.

I decided to pay a visit to see if they were still rightfully honoring their longstanding traditions of carefully honed hospitality and cutting edge cuisine. Continue reading “Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant in Bonita Springs, Florida”

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The Moral Necessity of Veganism

Please join me in imagining a planet where the following happens – billions of cats and dogs are raised in unpleasant conditions, killed and then eaten by humans. Now, imagine that these dogs and cats feel as much pain, if not more, than humans, that the planet’s scientists have shown how eating them is harmful to humans and that the process of growing and killing them is destroying the planet’s ecosystem. Please take a moment to reflect on this.

Now, I’m sure the picture I have painted will have not sat right with most of you. You may have been struck by the cruelty, the waste, or by the breath taking arrogance displayed. You may have felt a sense of outrage, pity or disgust. You may have wondered how such a state of affairs was allowed to be, let alone continue.

Continue reading “The Moral Necessity of Veganism”

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Thai Humor Lessons for Those About to Visit Thailand

Every culture claims to have a passionate family structure with grandmas firmly in the kitchen cooking grand meal, aunties gossiping, and kids chasing each other around the dinner table. The Americans celebrate the family with holidays like Thanksgiving and many groups throughout the world have similar festivities, though drunken jokes around a turkey varies slightly in content depending on your location.

Thailand, too, is proud of its devotion to the family. It is a country that sees nothing wrong with grown men living with their parents, sometimes sleeping in the same room with them, until he is old enough to know better. Some stay home their whole lives, bringing a newly acquired wife into the house to share the space with mom and dad. With enough means and a large enough plot of land, some families can afford to build junior a smaller house right next to the folks, but not too far, as being physically close implies a greater care and devotion to the clan. Continue reading “Thai Humor Lessons for Those About to Visit Thailand”

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Restaurants in Doha Qatar – Perspective of an American Family

The 3rd article describing in more details part of our experience in Qatar during a Fulbright visit for 6 months.

This is one of the harder articles to write although one of the most important ones for those planning to visit Qatar. I am not an expert on restaurants, I am just merely giving our family’s experience. If I sound like I am advertising for a restaurant, I am not, we just must have just really liked it. To be frank, food is probably the most we enjoyed in Qatar.

Qatar offers a very wide variety of food choices with a wide range of cost. The first restaurant I visited in Doha was Turkey Central on Al Mirqab street, few hours after arriving in Doha. It was not very fancy looking, but I was hungry enough and not that sure about future meals, since I did not have a car at that time. The menu was mostly grilled meats and a mix of middle-eastern salads. My host, Mohammed Alsayed, an engineer at Qatar University proposed a mix of chicken and beef Kabobs and a set of mixed salads including Taboli, Hummus, green salads, yogurt salad and eggplant. The prices were very reasonable less than $6 per person. The aroma of the food as it was being delivered was amazingly delicious. The food itself looked and tasted great. Continue reading “Restaurants in Doha Qatar – Perspective of an American Family”

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More Plastic Than Plankton

I can remember growing up in the sixties in a world which was still relatively “plastic free”. Do you remember when foods were actually packaged in glass, paper and cardboard? Do you also remember when the paper and cardboard was thicker back then? I can still remember as a boy looking at one of those “foam” cups made from polystyrene and crumbling it, it was in the late sixties, wondering what the heck it was made of! The one litre soda bottle was made from glass a long time ago, for which I got twenty cents for when I collected them from the side of the road and brought them into the corner store.

Continue reading “More Plastic Than Plankton”

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Rice – A Lifelong Love Affair

Rice is loved and used all over the world. I was born in the Philippines and rice is a staple at every meal. It is a staple in Japan, China, India and pretty much all of Asia and the Pacific Islands (Hawaii, Indonesia, etc). Many meals in Spain, Central and South America use rice as either the main meal or an accompaniment to the main dish. It is also widely used in the African Continent. I have even discovered its use in Germany and France.

It can be created as the main course, or as a side dish that complements the main course. You can also create it as a desert, hot or cold, with rice as the main ingredient. It could be a great snack food that the kids will eat without realizing it is boring rice they are enjoying. When you consider the possibilities of rice – it suddenly becomes easier to make your decision. Continue reading “Rice – A Lifelong Love Affair”

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Book Summary: The Millionaire Messenger: Make a Difference and a Fortune Sharing by Brendon Burchard

I read this book sitting in a Thai food restaurant on the Oregon coast. The food was outstanding and what was very interesting was the fact that at the cash register there was a book and DVD set talking about going to college for free. The author was a young guy who graduated from Harvard. The whole book series was designed to show college students and parents how to find money to pay for college. Come to find out the author was the restaurant owner’s son. This is a classic example of the Millionaire Messenger in action.

Why is this important to me? Continue reading “Book Summary: The Millionaire Messenger: Make a Difference and a Fortune Sharing by Brendon Burchard”