..VOYAGE ECHOES (minus WIND)

Above are the prices I paid per night to stay at the Forest & Land Hotel in Beijing, China back in September 2007. We paid USD $26 per night for two single beds in a standard room & without breakfast. I believe the prices have increased to $30 per night considering the recent 2008 Olympics & foreign exchange rates. I have to mention that overall the Forest & Land Hotel satisfied my expectations. I hope you have the same decent experience too. You can simply give the hotel a call for more information (86-10-51693535).

Also, you can change the room to the one you like because they will probably give you the worst room in the hotel first. It was what happened to me & my lady! Good thing my lady demanded a room change for us. It was simply indecent to give us or anybody else for the matter a room with only a top hung window to the hotel laundry! My trips overseas so far made me realize that even though you are tired, you must not settle for anything less than decent. I will add more details about the Forest & Land Hotel ‘first room’ incident in another post! Stay Tuned!

*Progressive relevant post: Forest & Land Hotel Facilities.

Popularity: 13% [?]

I thought I would write about my shopping day for Aidilfitri which was about two months ago. I may as well write about the day now before I accidentally forget about the photos. As usual, I like to go shopping at Kamdar clothing store which is located on Jalan Tun Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur. There are many clothing & book stores located in the area. Jalan Tun Abdul Rahman is a popular shopping area. In the above photo, you can find Kamdar on the left side just down the road. I once bought a US$3 Malay styled shirt in Kamdar last year.

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Popularity: 14% [?]

Perhaps you have the opportunity to travel all over the world. You cannot help but to notice the plight of the less fortunate especially the children first hand. One such place is at Payatas in Philippines. The children work in the garbage dumps along with their families in order to find things to sell for money. Additionally, they also search for food to eat from the dirty garbage dumps.

Visit the site in the link, view the video, & do what you want to do to help them lead a better life. You may already know about the Christmas For Payatas charity initiative held by ToteDaddy.com. Supporters of the cause include world famous footballers, politicians, local Filipino celebrities, & etc. Help them help the children of Payatas. People, especially children don’t deserve to be living in such deplorable conditions.

Press Release:

The landfill in Payatas, The Philippines, is notoriously known the world over as Smokey Mountain. For over 35 years, the smoking dump site has grown to become a stark and heart-tugging reminder of the desperate onditions of humanity.

On a daily basis, children pick through newly arrived garbage to
collect material to sell. The earnings made by one child are not enough to even buy food for the day. Hence, entire families are forced to climb the mountain each day, hoping to earn enough to feed everyone. Children as young as four years old are forced to work in this daily struggle for survival.

In response to the plight of these children, Totedaddy.com is working with Lighthouse Center For Children Foundation to bring a little cheer to the children this Christmas.

Totedaddy.com has kicked off with a cash sponsorship of USD 10,000 to enable the children to celebrate Christmas. FusionExcel International has also pitched in a USD 5,000 in cash sponsorship. The money raised
will help fund the projects already in place, and help fund additional projects aimed at providing better housing, and a means of livelihood for the Payatas community.

It is hoped that by creating better awareness to the plight of these children, more support can be garnered towards their betterment. Together we can bury poverty!

Popularity: 12% [?]