Delhi - To Do ABBA Contribution Daniel Tan 20 Feb 2014

Delhi - To Stay
Delhi - To Do
Delhi - To Eat
Delhi - To Buy

Delhi - To Do
20Feb2014 ABBA contribution

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Taj Mahal Day Tour
*ABBA Contribution. Txt and Pictures by Daniel Tan*

Getting there:

Nitin Sambhi via watsapp @ +919650148702. The cost for the trip are, Innova (3pax max): 8420 Rp for driver and car + 1050 Rp for English speaking guide. Larger groups can get a 8seater bus at 13900Rp. At the end of the trip, tips for the guide is 600Rp and the driver is 400Rp.

 

The journey takes about 3.5 - 4hrs and will take you through the countryside before hitting the highway. There will be a toilet break halfway through the journey. The bus will take you just outside the Taj and you need to pay 750 Rp for going in which includes a shoe cover and water.

From where the bus takes  you to the Taj, you have an option of travelling via a golf buggy, horse carriage or camel. Prices for horse and camel is 300Rp and 500 Rp respectively. We took the buggy because the ride was only like 5 minutes.

The guide will give a detailed explanation on the history of the Taj Mahal and will also offer various spots to take nice photos (Taj thru sunglasses, holding the Taj on palm etc.) So this will be a good spot to take your DSLR and what-not. Video cameras are not allowed once you are inside the Taj Mahal but camera phones are ok. 

At the end of the Taj Mahal visit, we were taken to this shop that sells art pieces ranging from jewellery boxes to marble tables. Its supposed to be works from the descendants of the craftsmen that build the Taj. A little pricey though as the jewllery box can cost 20 SGD while the marble tables can cost up to 10000USD.

You can also have the option of going to the Aggra Fort if you have time available but check with the guy on the cost.

If you got a clear day there can go la.Visit once in a lifetime is good enough. Best to go during the cooler seasons. Hot seasons not worth the effort.

*ABBA Contribution. Txt and Pictures by Daniel Tan*

Shanghai - To Do 23Feb2014 (Lao Shanghai, Fuyou Street merchandise Mart)

Shanghai - To Stay
Shanghai - To Do
Shanghai - To Eat

Shanghai - To Do
22Feb2014
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Lao Shanghai
(Shops close around 2030hrs)
a.k.a (Old Shanghai)
a.k.a (Shanghai Lao Jie)
Getting there:
Takes approximately 30mins by train, from
Shuicheng Road Station to Yu Yuan Station (no change of trains required)

Walk from Yu Yuan Station to Yu Yuan (a.k.a Jade garden, located in the middle of Old Shanghai.)

ABBAtip:
- Getting around is easy if you've got the Alipay app set up. You can link your credit card to it and through the app pretty much do cashless payments anywhere as well as take their cab hailing app Didi as well to get places.

Click here for ABBA location of where Jade Garden (and old Shanghai) is located. 

YuYuan Old Street CNY Eve Decoration
08Feb24

*08Feb24 CNY Celebrations and decoration. There's good security and really nice to see the amazing decoration. Well worth the visit if in town to check out some of the most picturesque views.*

A picturesque place, especially in the night with everything lit up. The lead in street have small Chinese trinkets of all kinds, from traditional teas, to resin encapsulated bug key-chains, door knockers and much more. 

 Replica art pieces are available for reasonable prices after heavy bargaining.

 *Pictured from left Wooden combs, (C) The numerous shopping walkways, (R) Varying Trinkets*

The main areas are surrounded by a number of boutique shops as well as shopping centers selling antiques and much more. Most shops close at around 2030hrs. 

Of course one cannot ignore the bountiful supply of great street eats available in the main square, where Yu-Yuan (Jade garden) is located, a paid, tourist attraction which show cases the beauty of Chinese Gardens for a small fee. (Click here for Shanghai - To Eat Nanxiang Famous Steamed Bun located in Old Shanghai)

 *Pictured is an order of Fried Shanghai Crab at RMB15. That's a single serve. Don't be fooled for it to be a soft-shelled crab. Your arteries would be clogged full of oil after this street eat.*
Also located at  Old Shanghai is
Fuyou Street Merchandise Mart 
02June2014

30mins travel time from Mellinium Hong Qiao Hotel to Fuyou Street Merchandise Mart
Via train. Arrival at 10.30am and all the shops were fully open and busy with business.
5 stories of merchandise shopping with a good spread of everything, ranging from
stationary, electronics, Knicks knacks and much more.

Click here for ABBA location of Fu Yuan Commercial Building

 Click here for ABBA location of where Jade Garden (and old Shanghai) is located.

Shanghai - To Eat 23Feb2014 (Nanxiang Steamed Bun and Hong Kong Restaurant)

Shanghai - To Stay
Shanghai - To Do
Shanghai - To Eat

Shanghai - To Eat
23Feb2014
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Nanxiang Steamed Bun
(located in Old Shanghai beside Zigzag Bridge of Town God's Temple)

Click here for general ABBA location. There's always a long line!

 

Ordered:
x2 Steamed bun with Crab Meat & Pork Stuffing 20RMB for 16 each

*Cheap and good. Juicy and generous on the filling. The skin is a little thick to personal liking but will always come back to get an order. Waited a good 30mins in cold weather for our turn, They don't have a continuous assembly line. Like make, steam, serve. They do in large batches, and man do these sell fast!*
A very long wait as they only have a group of ladies at the back making the dumplings by hand. The vinegar they have for pouring as a sauce isn't very strong, so you can go heavy handed on it if you want. 

Alternatively, one could go upstairs to their sit down restaurant to eat, however though a larger selection, the dumplings costs much more and the restaurants have a minimum order of 80-100RMB. Furthermore, there are split restaurant, each with their own offerings.
ABBATip:
Much much cheaper to queue for the take away, famous Shanghai Bao. Don't bother sharing. Just order one each. Delectable.

Click here for general ABBA location. There's always a long line! 

Hong Kong Restaurant
(Carrefour Building. Ground Floor Food Court Area.
250m from Millenium Hongqiao Shanghai Hotel)

Ordered:
2 Meat choice set and Milk tea

 *Not often do you get goose on a the menu. RMB42 for the set which comes with as pictured. RMB18 for the Milk Tea. Good balance of bitterness from the tea and condensed milk.*

Brinjal with minced meat dish
RMB28

*I could just catch a glimpse of them pain painstakingly slicing and stuffing meat in between, before sending this refreshing dish to the steamer, and coating it with a sweet and sour sauce. Fantastic.  A bit much for one to finish, but definitely great to share.*

Total: 88RMB Fed 1.

A quick and easy location for your Hong Kong Roast and goose fix for sure. The place got fully packed by 12noon, so go early.

Click here for ABBA location of Hong Kong Restaurant located beside Ground Level Food Court of Carrefour Building.

Munich - To Eat 15Feb2014 (Augustiner Barustuben, Haxnbauer)

Munich - To Stay
Munich - To Do
Munich - To Eat
Munich - To Buy

Munich - To Eat
Click here to see our facebook page 
15thFeb2014
Augustiner Barustuben
(Located 450m from Hackerbrücke station)

Located a 10min walk from Hackerbrucke Station
*recommended by Simon Seah*

Located at HackerBrucke, this place is a 10min walk from the station. A great rustic feel with long wooden benches, large barrel dining tables, with option of Alfresco dining. Nice atmosphere and a popular hangout with the locals. We arrived at around 3pm and it was already half full with a constant stream to fill up the place.

Ordered: 
Augustiner Helles Radler (Augustiner Bionda Al Limone) 0.5l €2.65
*Radler was incredibly light. More of a shandy but super refreshing. By my estimates, a 80/20 mix of beer and Lime Juice?*
The Brewer Master Special (Braumeisterfanne) €10.95With a slice of roasted pork saddle, Swabian ravioli, a grilled meat ball, creamy mushroom, pretzel - dumpling and gravy.

 *Pork was a simple cut with some fat trimmings. Sadly the attractive large sized meatballs and dumplings weren't a big hit . A doughy like texture with more flour than meat. The only star of this dish really was their super creamy, mushroom dish/ gravy sauce. Absolutely delectable. Not sure if you can just order that. Goes splendidly with the pork knuckles and everything else.*

Bavarian Specialty Pan with Crispy Knuckle of Pork Roast Pork, Duck and Sausages Served With a potato dumpling and Red Cabbage

*In my opinion, the most value for money order. Half a Schweinshaxe (Crispy pork knuckle), although a little salty, did make up for it with crispy, crackled skin and juicy meat all the way through. The half-duck, was beautifully prepared, with meat falling delicately off the bone. Along with that comes two different flavored sausages and a serve of gelatinous like potato mixture ball. Not too appetizing that ball, but it does help cut through the saltiness of the dish. The purple cabbage sauerkraut (preserved cabbage) was superb. The purple cabbage gives that light sweet dimension to the dish.*

Kaiserschmarrn (Shredded caramel pancake with serve of apple sauce a popular dessert in South Germany)

*Loving the pancake, puff pastry. With caramelized bottoms and a light dusting of sugar powdering on top was beautiful in its own. The accompanying, slightly tart apple purée wasn't a hit for myself. The scene where 1980s Robocop, eating baby food did spring to mind. A German classic dessert to order.*
Fed2: Approximately €50

Although a chained joint, it was shared that here it was much cheaper over here. Defiantly value for money, with some great eats and some misses, as reviewed.

*ABBA Tip
- It seems their gelatinous potato ball seems consistent in many other locations. Opt for a replacement for fries or mash. In past  visits, this starchy potato ball was a total miss for everyone.

Click here for ABBA location of Augustiner Bräustuben, Landsberger Straße, Munich, Germany

Haxnbauer I'm Scholastikahaus
(300m from Marienplatz Station)

Located a stones throw away from Marine Splaz Station, the restaurant so aptly advertises its, super crispy pork knuckles, on a wall of charcoal rotisserie through the window. It has a pleasant dining interior with spacious ceilings. No Wifi here unfortunately for those in-need to check-in and insta post.

Ordered:
Crispy Pork

Think we were a little hoodwinked with the push for ordering the pork knuckle whole. Ordered two whole
pork knuckles at €36 and €31 each. Fed 4 You do the math.

Side dishes orderd: Mash potatoes and sauerkraut

Additional sides ordered:
x2 portions of Kraut and x2 Potato Purée €7.40 each
x2 Radler €4.30 each
x3 Beers €4.60 each
Total:€103.90 Fed4

Although a little on the pricey side, it was indeed the crispiest pork knuckles had so far. Thumbs up for the beers and the pork knuckles cravings definitely fulfilled. It was also wonderful that they had the free serving of two mustard types. A honey sweet variety and a not overly spiced, smooth yellow mustard.
Click here for ABBA location of Haxnbauer located at Sparkassenstraße 6 80331 München, Germany

Munich - To Do 15 & 16th Feb2014 (DaChau Concentration Camp & Residenz)

Munich - To Stay
Munich - To Do
Munich - To Eat
Munich - To Buy

Munich - To Do
Click here to see our facebook page
15th Feb 2014

Day1
DaChau - Concentration Camp

Getting there:
From Arrabella Park Station to location takes approximately 1hr30mins, inclusive of transfers and waiting times for trains and bus. One can travel cheaper and buy the group ticket at €11.20 for up to a party of 5. Ticket will cover unlimited travel throughout for one day. All tickets maybe purchased at the concierge or at the train stations.

Remember to check the sign boards for direction of travel and arrival train. Sometimes your train maybe listed beyond the display, so be patient. Take the train to Dachau.
Click here for ABBA Directions to Dachau 

From there, there are clearly marked signs (with english) pointing you to the bus service which goes to the concentration camp. Whilst on the bus, it's another 15min ride or so. You'll hear concentration camp as the announcement for the stop. You can't miss it, plus loads of people would likely offload as well.

Click here for ABBA directions to Dachau Concentration Camp

 Dachau - Concentration Camp (Free to enter)

A chilling realization and depiction of the horrors that went on during the darker times. Most of the original structures were lost to the sands of time, with most of displays reconstructed for presentation purposes. The grounds and still existent trees are still a grim reminder of the past.

*Pictured from Left to Right (L) A memorial sculpture. (C) Tourist walking the open grounds where the barracks used to be. (R) Tourist sitting in a reproduction lodging space listening to the tour guide sharing anecdotes.*

*Pictured from left. (L) A memorial plaque. (C) A prisoner dying instantly when used for altitude experiments. (R) A sculpture in remembrance of the people leaving the camp grounds*

It was a detailed, information overload, with the countless write ups. Some of the more striking ones were the pictures depicting prisoners used in tests, often to the death. One of which was the test for military pilot suits and how long would a pilot survive in the rigid cold whilst in his flight suit. Prisoners were dumped into frigid ice-waters and were timed for their survivability.

*Pictured from left. (L) A Memorial Jewish Synagogue. (C) A child sitting out the sun. (R) Damned gates leading to the gas chambers and crematorium.*

Perhaps the most grim, disturbing and chilling of the sights was the gasing chamber pictured above. Prisoners were forced into false shower rooms and gassed. 

Over all, its well worth the visit and one can do without the audio guide. Self-guided tour might be the best option. 
ABBATip:- Audio-guide, not really needed. We had opted for the self guided audio tour guide at €3.50 each which was informative, but an information overload. The audio guide itself is purely informational dictation with little to no 'drama' by way of anecdote sound bites or sound-scapes. Not required.
- There is a guided waking tour at €3 per head, located beside the audio guide counter. However, others have found the tour itself to be too rushed, as well as only skimming a few of the exhibits. 

Day2
Residenz Muchen

Residenz Munchen Entry €7 for Adults for Residenz only. €13 for all 3 exhibits. Ticket prices pictured above.

Wikipedia *The Munich Residenz (Münchner Residenz, Munich Palace) is the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs in the center of the city of Munich, Germany. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors for its architecture and room decorations, and displays from the former royal collections.*

Incredibly beautiful. The Residenz itself was so big, that we actually got tired walking mid way through. It has an excellent mixture of architectural beauty and different types of artifacts to vary the touring experience. Each room different and unique in its own way.

 *Pictured from left to right. (L) Huge fire place. (C) The finale. (R) 100 seat dinner setting. Exquisite.*

 *Pictured from left to right. (L) Fountain feature made entirely out of corals and seas shells. (C) Amazing sculpts (R) King of the seas.

 *Pictured from left to right.*(L) Beautiful tapestry dwarfing Katrina. (C1) A re-purposed porcelain Chinese lion to be made as a candle holder for the European market. (C2) Amazing mirror room. (R) Another amazing tapestry.*

*Pictured from left to right.(L) A preserved hand. (C) Chapel in the residence. (R) The master bed room. 

An amazing walk through. Although we hadn't opted for the full package deal, this was plenty good, with a wide spread of things to look at, and be in awe. Well worth the visit, and grand place to seek refuge from the wet & cold.

Click here for ABBA location of Residenz Muchen, with Odeonsplaz being the nearest station.

Carnival Munich
16Feb2014

We were incredibly fortunate to have wondered into town on this Sunday. Munich was having a carnival to celebrate the end of winter. They do so in a parade, donning masks and painted faces, dancing to music and throwing sweets and treats to the crowds. A fantastic family friendly event.
ABBATip:
Check with the concierge for latest events and such. There are always carnivals and street festivals on going. Click here for write up of another carnival previously went to at Tollewood Park, 

Not really a To- Do, but in the theme of celebration, the these amazing street artist found in between Marienplatz and Karlszplatz

Click here fro ABBA location of Marienplatz whee to find these guy.