Tag: Thailand

Beijing ~ Melbourne By High-Speed Train

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Paul Chong

Wednesday, 29 November 2017

 

As it is Australia is one huge continent with great distances from north to south & east to west. It is a country, a continent and an island. It is located in Oceania between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean.

The vast distances between places make it expensive to travel domestically. Most Australian find it more worthwhile to travel abroad to Bali, Thailand, Malaysia & Singapore. In 3 years, we will take a trip across all the borders from North to South.

But not for long now. Changes are in the horizon & within three years,high-speed train will be coming to Australia. In 3 years, we will take a trip across all the borders from North to South. Distance barriers will become a thing of the past.

Starting at Beijing thereafter, along the South Canton line, from Nanning into Indo-China, Malay Peninsula passing through Hanoi, Vientiane, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and other important cities, thereafter through Malacca Strait tunnel into Indonesia’s Pulau Sumatera, the Indonesian Archipelago, passing through Jakarta, Bandung, and other Indonesian cities, through to Australia via The Northern Territories capital, Darwin, spanning a 550-kilometre trip cross-Sea bridge into Australia’s East Coast via Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra to the train terminal at Melbourne.

Built by China Railway on a turnkey contract, with total length of project 13000 km, for the entire viaduct Railway, design of 2 sea-crossing tunnels, 5 bridges, at highest speed of 400 km per hour, and at a total investment of 460 billion U.S. dollar.

The Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure investment Bank will provide financial support to all countries along the way.

After completion of the project, the trip from Melbourne to Beijing via high-speed train is expected to be within 48 hours, with fare control within 1000 Australian dollars. Annual passenger throughput is expected to reach 200 million persons each year. For countries along the way it will bring direct economic benefits of more than 200 billion U.S. dollars.

The project expected to commence early 2018 and completed by end 2020.

Along the way, you can enjoy different customs and natural landscapes of Australia and Southeast Asia, and enjoy delicious food from all over the world. As the train passes through every country, the country’s attendants will provide services for the railway.

It’s a changing world we live in. Make sure you live healthily to usher in this new era of fast-speed transportation. Passengers can expect to travel in great comfort, apart from high speed, & if not more comfortable than the airlines & more affordable.

Update Insertion: 7 January 2019

Isn’t it time for the Aussie Government  to consider upgrading the domestic rail infrastructure? Both the Indian Pacific Rail & the Ghan (the Great Southern Rail) are old & outdated. More popularity, convenience & speed would be afforded to serve this great continent of ours with the recommended High Speed Rail system from China. Think what will all this mean!

 

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Durian: “King of Fruits” Becoming “King of Wine”?

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Source: University of Singapore & Google

 Durian pulp

Christine & Fransisca

Scientists in Singapore are experimenting with wine-making, using the pungent-smelling durians instead of grapes. They’re still a long way from commercialising durian wine, but researchers are confident that the so-called “Kong of Fruits” has the potential to be “King of Wine”.

The “King of Fruits”, as commonly renowned in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand & other southeast countries is not for everyone especially westerners.

Smell like hell

Taste like heaven!

Scientists smell success with durian wine-making.

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Christine & Fransisca

Durian has an extremely pungent smell – some say downright foul. It’s even been banned in public buses, trains & certainly planes. But that hasn’t deterred Christine Lee and Fransisca Taniasuri, researchers at the University of Singapore. They’re turning durian into wine.

Prof.

According to Assistant Professor Liu Shao Quan, the fruit’s firm pulp must first be modified before fermentation can begin.The end result is a clear liquid with 6 per cent alcohol content, with its pungent smell reduced.

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Whether this will translate into commercial success or not remains to be seen. But for the great durian lovers & wine drinkers & the growing market demand in China & Hong Kong where durian import has been on the increase, the potential & possibility look good. 

Romantic Link:

A woman like good wine mellows with the years . . . and the man always as young as he feels would endear her to himself with tears.

Durians Galore

On By Paul4 Comments

Durians Galore

“Smell like hell, but taste like heaven”!

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Durian season in Malaysia & Singapore coincides  with most of the other tropical fruits such as mangosteen, rambutan, langsat & manggis as from June to August.

Durian is ‘King of the Tropical Fruits’, unique in Malaysia, Thailand, Borneo & some other South East Asian countries. It is utterly delicious described as “Smells like hell but tastes heaven.” Most Westerners shun the fruit because of its odour, strong & penetrating to the point of overpoweringly offensive. Most Asians however are hooked developing an insatiable urge for it.

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Durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour & formidable thorn-covered husk. Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its husk green to brown & its flesh pale yellow to red, depending on the species.

For those of us who have long migrated from Malaysia or Singapore, our urge for durians is secondarily satisfied by the Thai variety. The Thai durians somehow taste not quite as good, possibly because they are plucked or harvested before being ripened, freight overseas & stored in frozen form. In Malaysia, only fallen ripe durians are harvested & marketed & they are really rich in taste & aroma.

These days genetic durians are available throughout the year. The imported D24 genetic variety is pricey here in Perth. As they are also in frozen state, they don’t come up to the same mark of deliciousness.

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(The Red Variety as found in Kalimantan)

In SS2 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, there are stores promoting eating durians in buffet style. For R$10 customers can feed themselves as much as they can eat. This is definitely good dollar value for a durian dinner.

An Exceptional Prolific Durian Tree
Durians Galore – Within East Reach Off The Tree

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Health Benefits of Durian

Traditionally the durian fruit was seen as a powerful aphrodisiac, while women would eat the ashes from burnt durian skins to help them recover after child birth. But concoctions made from the leaves of the durian tree were also used to help reduce swelling and cure skin disease. More recently nutritionists have claimed that the durian fruit can help lower cholesterol andcleanse the blood as well as cure jaundice and alleviate fevers.

Experts even say that you can rid yourself of yeast infections such as thrush through eating the durian fruit. This is because of the durian’s high iron content that helps the white blood cells in our body make specific chemicals that kill off the infection.

The durian is also packed withamino acids as well as Vitamins B, C and E and many people are even comparing the sweet custard like centre of the durian fruit to the goji berry for its high levels of anti oxidants. These anti oxidants help slow down the destruction of cells from free radicals such as pollution and smoking; in doing so, they decrease the effects of aging on the skin giving you a younger more refreshed look.

Among the amino acids found inside the durian is tryptophan. Tryptophan is essential for making and maintaining serotonin levels in the body. Serotonin is the hormone in the body that regulates our happiness. People with low serotonin levels tend to have short tempers, are often moody and suffer from depression. This means that not only will eating the durian fruit help keep your body running smoothly but it will also increase your general happiness and well being.