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Cultural Shock in Southeast Asia? Take This Top 3 Basic Rules!

Avoid a cultural shock while travelling to Southeast Asia! We’ve all been there, a moment where you realised that you just embarrassed yourself in the public, or perhaps innocently pointing to the sacred statue and everyone just shocked in silence! Well, understanding which gestures open doors and which accidentally slam them shut is vital. Therefore, learning a few essential social rules is the single best way to move beyond "tourist" status and unlock genuine warmth, ensuring your journey is filled with smiles, not apologies! Here’s the top 3 of the most fundamental and crucial rules to understand when traveling through Southeast Asia: 1. The Dirtiness of the Feet In many Southeast Asian cultures, the human body is viewed hierarchically: The Head is the highest part: spiritual, sacred, and closest to the heavens. The Feet are the lowest part: literally touching the ground, associated with dirt, and furthest from the spiritual realm.  Therefore, the feet are culturally deem...

Bún Chả: Embrace The Warm of Nước Chấm

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If you’re a food lover that would like to try a new experience of roasted pork in VietNam , then you should try Bún Chả! More than just a vermicelli and grilled meat, Bún Chả holds an aromatic and tender smoky taste, but do you know what is inside this delicious meal? Bún Chả is a harmonious combination of textures and temperatures, typically served with four distinct elements: The Grilled Pork (Chả) : The heart of the dish, marinated and traditionally grilled over hot charcoal until beautifully caramelized and smoky. It usually consists of two kinds: Minced Pork Patties (Chả Băm) : Juicy, seasoned meatballs made from ground fatty pork. Pork Belly Slices (Thịt Ba Chỉ): Thin slices of fatty pork belly, charred and tender. The Dipping Sauce (Nước Chấm) : This is the soul of Bún Chả. It is a light, warm, and highly nuanced liquid that acts as both a dipping sauce and a light broth. It achieves a masterful balance of sweet, sour, salty, and savory (umami), made from fish sauce, sugar, vi...

Pantai Serit(Serit Beach): Blitar's Best-Kept Secret Beach

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Are you travelling somewhere in East Java? And... you're looking for a natural and quiet beach, with proper facilities for tourists, then you need to add this beach to your destination list! Entry Fee: Rp. 25.000(locals) - Rp. 50.000(Foreigners) [$1.52 - $3] Serit Beach - Blitar While Blitar boasts its share of beautiful coastlines, there exists a lesser-known jewel, whispered among locals and adventurous travelers: Pantai Serit (Serit Beach). Forget the bustling shores and crowded sun loungers, this beach offers black sand, mesmerizing waves, alongside with a long coastline. Serit offers a refreshing contrast to more commercialized destinations, truly earning its reputation as Blitar's most captivating hidden gem. How To Get Here You can rent a bike or a car from Blitar, then drive here for around 1 hour from the downtown area, the road were quite good with a little bit of bumps in some points, watch out for some holes in some areas, and expect to drive in the rural mountainou...

Sunrise in Langkawi: Teluk Baru Coastal Road's Hidden Morning Gem

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Are you tired of packed sunrise spot and want to have an easy yet amazing sunrise spot in Langkawi, Malaysia? Forget the crowds vying for sunrise views. If you're looking to capture the serene beauty of a new day dawning over Langkawi, set your alarm for the Teluk Baru Coastal Road. This scenic stretch offers an unparalleled perspective of the sunrise, a quiet spectacle where the sky ignites with color and the world awakens in peaceful harmony.  This Coastal Road is located 15 minutes drive from Pantai Cenang, Langkawi, with easy-to-no effort, this sunrise spot is perfect for you who seeks beauty in simplicity. How to Get Here? It’s pretty easy and reachable by private motorcycle and car, the road to this sunrise spot were quite big and accessible, unfortunately there’s no public transportation that can bring you here, hence either you ride your own bike or car, but there’s some Grab driver that you willing to negotiate to drive you here and waiting for you and send you back. Also,...

Phở: Vietnam's Soul in a Bowl

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Vietnam , known as a paradise for rich aromatic food, the first whisper of dawn in Vietnam often brings with it an irresistible aroma, a rich, savory steam curling from countless street stalls. This isn't just an ordinary dish ; it's an irresistible scent of Phở, the national dish, a culinary masterpiece that defines Vietnamese gastronomy. The precise historical origins of Phở are somewhat debated among food historians. According to Wikipedia, Phở started to emerge around the 20th century, in Northern Vietnam, likely in or around Hanoi or the Nam Định Province. Before French colonial rule, cattle were primarily used as draft animals in Vietnam, not for their meat. The Vietnamese diet heavily relied on pork, chicken, fish, and seafood. While Vietnamese also influenced by Chinese in terms of using rice noodles and spices in their broth, however, with the arrival of the French, who had a strong preference for beef, the slaughter of cows became more common. This created a surplus...