By Ken Looi

Colonia del Sacramento was founded in 1680 by the Portugese as Colónia do Sacramento, the colony was later renamed by the Spanish as Colonia del Sacramento. Through all those years, the Spaniards and the Portugese were fighting over this piece of land. Therefore, you could find houses in Spanish, Portugese or mixed style. It became a UNESCO heritage site in 1995. Most of the buildings and houses have been restored. 

Now it is part of the independent country of Uruguay, Colonia del Sacramento has expanded to the north and east. From Montevideo to Colonia, it takes three hour by bus.  There is a ferry bus from Colonia to Buenos Aires. It takes one hour to cross over the Rio de la Plata.  Most visitors are from Argentina and Brazil.

For more information about travelling to South America, click here.

For travel gears reviews, click here.

For social media, click here.

Share/Bookmark

 By Ken Looi

Buenos Aires (BA) is the second largest city in South America.  The people are called Portenos (people of the port). The city architecture is very European like.  There are two famous football clubs in the city – Boca Juniors and River Plate. Tango is world renowned dance.

The neighborhood in BA includes Belgrano (Chinatown), La Boca (old port district), Palermo (trendy neighborhood), Parque Patricios (technology park), Puerto Madero (modern skyline), Recoleta (upscale neighborhood), Retiro (cafes and restaurant), San Telmo ( Sunday open air market).

Promenading Buenos Aires, like any other big cities, requires some precaution. Below are several suggestions from Four Season Hotel, BA.

 1. Avoid wearing luxurious wristwatches and jewelry.

 2. Carry only a photocopy of your passport. You will only need the original passport when exchanging money.

 3. It is preferable to use hotel cars.  Although it is more expensive, our drivers are registered drivers, reliable and bilingual.  They will provide a safe and comfortable journey to your medium and long travels.  For shorter ride, our Bell desk may contact a reputable Radio Taxi for you.

 4. Carry small denominations of money for small purchases. Check your change to avoid receiving fake money.

 5. In restaurants or bars, do not leave your handbags unattended or hanging on a chair. 

 During our stay in BA, we experienced taxi driver claiming that the meter did not work or going to places by using a longer route. 

For more information about travelling to South America, please click here.

For travel gear, click here.

For social media, click here.

Share/Bookmark

By Ken Looi

Prado

Prado is one of the neighbourhood or district  in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is also the name of a park.  It consists of Museo Juan Manuel Blanes, Jardin Japones, Hotel del Prado, Rosedale and Rural del Prado.

The botanical garden was established by a professor Atilio Lombardo. It keeps various species of plants, both local and exotic.  Entrance to the park is free. You could walk, jog, experience different types of plantation or just sit to relax.

Taxis fare cost between 200 -220 Uruguayan peso (US $11-12) one way from Rambla Gandhi, Pocitos. The ride took approximately 20 minutes.

This article is just to share some of the pictures that I took.

If you need more information, please click on these links.

Travel gear review, social media, travel copy writing.

Share/Bookmark

By Ken Looi

Punta del Este is a city and resort on the Atlantic Coast at the southern tip of Uruguay.  It is about 2 hrs bus ride from Montevideo. We took a bus from Tres Cruces terminal in Montevideo.  The bus is WIFI equipped.  In the summer, Punta del Este has more tourist than residents. Currently, there are many new high rise under construction. It seems like real estate is booming.

La mano (the hand) is located at Prada 1 at Brava Beach. It is one of the most popular tourist attraction site.  There are other name for this sculpture such as Hombre emergiendo a la vida (Man Emerging to Life), Monumento los Dedos ( Monument  of the Fingers) or Monumento al Ahogado (Monument to the Drowned). This monument was sculpted by a Chilean artis Mario Irarrazabal in 1982.

Carlos Paez Vilaro is a multi talented person who paints, sculptures, designs Casapueblo, paints mural, makes ceramics, writes, and plays music. Casapueblo  is located at Punta Ballena near Punta del Este.  It is built in honor of his son who survived in the crash of Uruguayan Air force flight 571. Later, a hotel was added to the original house. It took 36 years of his life to complete this house. Here are a few photos of Carlos’ creations.

For more information on traveling to Uruguay, please follow this link.

For social media assistance, please click here.

For travel gears, please click here.

Share/Bookmark

By Ken Looi

We have been traveling away from home for more than two month now. Home cooking with local spices is the cheapest and healthiest. The most important is you know what your are putting in your food. We savor local food as well because that is much of experiencing local custom and the way of life. Some places are famous for their chocolates, wines or meats. Some locals eat dinner at 9 or 10 pm. Once, we were at a restaurant at 730pm, it was empty – that is South American lifestyle.

Here are a few condiments that I use.

• Chimichurri – Barbecue seasoning. Consist of dehydrated garlic,parsley, chilli, pepper, oregano, white pepper.
• Curry powder – Coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, cumin, mustard seeds, ginger, all spice,nutmeg, fennel, fenugreek.
• Aji molida – ground pepper/ ground dry chilli.
• Adobo – Oregano, chilli pepper, thyme.            

Click here for more information on spices from MonteCudine, La Manchega, Carmencita, Heinz, McCormick and Lobos.

Share/Bookmark

By Ken Looi

ROSA – Rosa de Argentina Malbec. 100% Malbec variental. Fermented in a stainless-steel tank for 20 days at a maximum temperature of 16 C. No malolactic fermentation. Wood aging:no. Fresh wine from the year.

LOAN – 100% Malbec varietal. Fermented in concrete vats for 8 days at a maximum temperature of 26 C that may reach a temperature of 28 C. Ten -day post fermentative maceration. Complete malolatcic fermentation. Aged for 6 months in third or fourth used French oak barrels. Three-month bottle stowage in a controlled environment. Aging potential 4 years.

AR GUENTOTA – Ar Guentota 100% Malbec varietal. Fermented in concrete vats for 8 days at a maximum temperature of 28 C that may reach a peak temperature of 30 C. Twenty -day post-fermentative maceration. Complete malolactic fermemtation in new French oak barres. Aged for 12 months in first and second-use French oak barrels. Eight-month bottle stowage in controlled environment. Aging potential: 10 years.

SWINTO (93 puntos Robert Parker) – Swinto:100% Malbec variental. Fermented in concrete vats for 8 days at a maximum temperature of 28 C that may reach a peak temperature of 30 C. Twenty five-day post -fermentation maceration. Complete malolactic fermentation in new French oak barrels. Twelve-month bottle stowage in a controlled environment. Aging potential: 10 years.

ANTRACITA – Late harvest of Malbec grapes, carefully selected and collected at -7 C. Aging: excellent ice wine produced after twenty-four month fermentation and aging in new French oak barrels.

The winery has a restaurant called Restaurante Navarra. They serve five course lunch to pair with their wines. Private tour and reservation are needed.

Wine information credited to Belasco De Baquedano and Restaurante Navarra.

For further information about traveling to South America, please click here.

For traveling gear reviews, please click here.

Photos are my own. Kindly let me know if you would like to use these photos.

Share/Bookmark

History Of Solis Theater

By Ken Looi

Constructed in 1840. 

Designed by an architect,  Modena Carlos Zucchi.

Construction stopped due to civil war in1843.

Resumed construction by an architect Francisco Javier De Germendia who modified Zucchi’s original plan in 1852.

Opening performance was on August 25, 1856.

Festival Mozart conducted by Diego Naser

Ticket for this performance was 150 Uruguayan Peso (US $8) for 1.5hr. Tickets could be purchased at the door, but advance booking is needed for better sitting. The price is the same for all sitting. Credit card is accepted because not all businesses in Uruguay accept credit card.

For more information about traveling to South America, click on this link.

For travel gear, please click here.

Photos are my own. Kindly let me know if you would like to use these photos.

Share/Bookmark

Online Help

By Jon

My computer lends me a hand 24/7. Whenever I need help usually the first thing I go to for consultation is my computer. Recently emailing tech support for a problem I had with software I was using for school made me think of my dependence on online help.  Getting answers to problems is really easy when using a computer. Here are some ways I use online help.

Online help is extremely fast and efficient. About 5 minutes after submitting a ticket to a school provided help desk I got a phone call and I had my problem solved in seconds. It had taken me about an hour of trying to figure out what was wrong, but when you talk to the right people they can solve complex computer problems to questions in your daily life, because they are experts. I would never have guessed that I needed to go to the control panel and tinker with my Java settings.  

A useful way to get the answers you require is live chatting. Most online shopping companies have workers ready to help you right when you need it. Some companies like zappos.com have live support all day every day. Though you might wonder if you are talking to a robot, they person or thing that you are communicating with can usually get your problem solved. I’ve noticed that in several different companies when live chatting, the representatives the first question that they ask is along the lines of ‘what’s your name’. If you want a more traditional way to have your problems solved you can always just call the company.

When I have a problem sometimes I just Google it. You’re probably familiar with sites like yahoo answers and wiki answers. Sites like those pretty much have answers to everything but sometimes I doubt how reliable they are. Also Google can every now and then answer my questions directly. If you type the word define in front of your search it will usually remove the need for clicking on a URL which is convenient, because Google can define words directly. 

Nowadays as we rely on computers more and more online help is becoming increasingly faster, reliable and easier.

How often do you use online help? Leave your comment below.

Share/Bookmark

 3 Chrome Apps that will Improve your Grades in School

By Jon

Since school just started officially in Florida, though it doesn’t really affect me, I was looking into some good apps on my Google Chrome browser for the classes I am taking. Nowadays good apps aren’t that hard to find. Here are three helpful free apps on the Chrome Web Store for anyone who is in school or just wants something for reference.

ChemRefrence: Periodic Table

This is my only periodic table, and the only one I need. It used to be called Element, until it was updated, but still has the same great content. There are animated atom diagrams, electron placement charts, in depth stats for every atom and all that good chemistry stuff. The only down side to this app is that there are ads, but they aren’t obnoxiously large or distracting. I guess you could say this is completely useless for the average person that doesn’t need to know about chemistry, but it’s extremely helpful for me.

GeoGebra

I use the GeoGebra for when graphing in algebra my course actually recommends downloading this application. You can create graphs, angles and shapes using points on a graph, so it’s mainly just for the purpose of assisting you your math needs. The GeoGebra app can be annoying when using the zoom in and zoom out button, because you have to switch between the two buttons by going down a drop down menu with another 5 options every time you want to change the mode. Like a lot of other sites, you can use your Google account to sign in. No need to remember another password. It’s also convenient that you can save your graphs or whatever you made as a Google doc. I’m still learning the nuts and bolts of the application, but so far it’s been decent. 

Numerics Calculator & Converter

This might not completely replace my normal graphing calculator, but it does the job well when I don’t feel like getting my bulky Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus. With the capabilities of a normal scientific calculator the Numerics Calculator & Converter is worthy of being used on a daily basis. The downside to this app and every calculator on computers is that it’s frustrating to use the onscreen keyboard and even the normal keyboard, without a numeric keypad. It also has tons of categories with different measurements to convert between, like force, currency, length volume and time. Another plus about this app, though I have never tried it out is that it apparently works offline and doesn’t require wifi.  This app has many more features than I would probably ever need.

Do you use any apps for reference or school? Leave your comment below.

Share/Bookmark

Coding, the next ‘must learn’ language?

By Jon

I was watching a BBC video about why lots of people are learning basic computer coding, which made me think of how I had learnt extremely basic html and a bit of objective-c. Is it really necessary for me to know more coding languages since I’m on the computer so often? Most people don’t think of languages like JavaScript of C++ as real languages, but with the rise of computers they could become more important than ever.

For a long time I’ve been thinking I would I ever need to know computer a language. So now I might have to reconsider that.  However, I had learned html last year in a computer class at school, not by choice, but it actually proved helpful once when my mom needed help with posting one of her articles. I wrote a simple line to make a couple of words bold. I don’t really know any more than changing fonts, colors, inserting photos and adding hyperlinks so I think that there might be a time when I would need to learn more for my well being in the computer world.

There are so many languages out there that it is pretty hard for me to decide which one is the most important and what I should learn. I have started learning a little objective-c which is a C based language for iOS application creation. I was expecting it to be somewhat like html, but it’s completely different. Maybe I should learn C, because a lot of languages are derived from it, but then maybe I should learn JavaScript. It’s quite overwhelming.

A cool resource to learn stuff like JavaScript is at khanacademy.org. There is an all-new area called computer science for you to learn and edit code in an interactive way. There are topics for both beginner and expert coders. I’ve been looking into their videos, which were quite interesting, and I actually learned a bit.

I think it’s necessary to know the extreme basics of some coding languages at least. In the future if people will use computers more and more often, then it would become increasingly important to know a little about what makes certain things on your computer work.

Learning basic html helped me a bit outside of school, so I think that learning coding and certain computer languages should be taught as a mandatory course in schools.

Do you know any coding languages? Leave your comment below.

Photo Credit: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19115743

Share/Bookmark