Exotic Asia

Qatar and Iran’s Investment in Southeast Johor

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 06:21:01 +0000

***Plans to develop Southeast Johor as the new regional hub for oil and gas (O&G) are getting a RM46b boost in foreign direct investment (FDI) into the sector.

Abdul Ghani Othman told The Star that the site in Teluk Rumania and Pengerang totaling 1,200 hectares has been identified and the area would be transformed into the O&G hub by 2013.

The hub will have facilities for processing, refinery, storage, fabrication, bunkering shipyard and marine related industries.

Two companies from Qatar and Iran have decided to invest RM16b and RM30b respectively to set up their operations at the area and are expected to put up their facilities there before 2013, Ghani said.

“They have submitted their applications to the Federal Government and MIDA and we are seriously looking into the plan,” Ghani told reporters.

He was speaking at the opening of the plant by EEW Malaysia Sdn Bhd which will produce steel pipes for the O&G sector at Tanjung Langsat industrial park.
The company is a joint venture between Erndtebrucker Eisenwerk Co from Germany and Dynac Sdn Bhd and the plant would be former’s fifth plant worldwide.

Ghani said the Qatari and Iranian companies were involved in the mid-stream activities and each investment would create between 600 and 1,200 job opportunities.

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Weird Vietnamese Food!

admin — Sun, 23 May 2010 05:25:01 +0000

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Here’s a good list of weird Vietnamese food that I guess normal Vietnamese people don’t really eat but it’s still entertaining.

from vietworldkitchen.typepad.com

Snake village and snake food being cooked

Hanoi street food, pho and civet coffee (the coffee beans that go through the intestinal track of the civet)

Hanoi cha ca la vong restaurant and Highway 4 restaurant of ‘exotic’ things like roasted sparrow (my mom ate them when she was young)

Hanoi old quarter and home cooking (snails, silkworms, eel) – check out the luxe kitchen!

High-tech fish sauce making with concrete vats, sterile but interesting

Ha Long Bay

Since I just posted a review of Fuschia Dunlop’s new book on eating in China, it seems apropos to include this posting on Andrew Zimmern’s show on Vietnam. Zimmern has a show on the Travel Chanel on bizarre food experiences and travels. My sister Tasha pointed me to a segment that was taped in and around Hanoi. You can watch parts of the Vietnam segment on YouTube. A recap of the show is below:

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Interesting Malaysia!

admin — Sat, 22 May 2010 04:21:16 +0000

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Here’s some really interesting pics from Malaysia!

from www.hot-screensaver.com

I have a few friends who always supply me with lots of interesting emails everyday, and I really have to thank them for this as these emails are sources of inspiration and motivation to get started working every morning. Without them, I may need a few cups of coffee in the morning instead.

source to this post: Interesting Malaysia!
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Abandoned Hashima Island in Japan!

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 03:23:06 +0000

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Here’s an interesting story about an abandoned island in Japan called “Hashima”. Why are people forbidden to enter the island now? Must be something more than that…

from googlesightseeing.com

Hashima Island, 15 kilometres from Nagasaki, Japan, was once the densest human development on Earth, and today stands completely empty and abandoned.

Mitsubishi bought the island in 1890¹ and began using it as a coal mining facility. When space for the workers began to run out, they built Japanâ€™s first large scale reinforced concrete apartment block on the island in 1916. More concrete tower blocks followed, and by 1959 the population of Hashima reached its peak of 5,259 – an astonishing 1,391 people per 10,000 square metres within the residential district – which is said to be the highest population density ever recorded in the world.

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Crazy House in Vietnam?

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 02:27:01 +0000

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Here’s an interesting CrazyHouse in Vietnam.

from www.traveladventures.org

The official name is Hang Nga Guesthouse and gallery, but all locals refer to it as the crazy house. And when you stand in front of its entrance it is easy to see why: this house is indeed strange. It does not comply with any convention about house building, has unexpected twists and turns, roofs and rooms. It looks like a fairy tale castle, it has enormous “animals” like a giraffe and a spider, no window is rectangular or round, and it can be visited like a museum.

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