Brussels-where mussels come with fries

This is the land where my dream of craving pralines came true..
The land of art of the Gastronomy.
Brussels, the land of chocolates and pralines..the capital of the bilingual Belgium..where French and Dutch are the major population here.




The unique heritage is expressed in lace and Belgian lace is well known for it's fine art..



Fries with variety of sauces that can't b found in other part of the world...



Belgian waffles (Gauffres)..it's the die heart must try !People swamps for it okay!
They bake the waffles with special iron that is only available there in Brussels where the waffles are crunchy-golden outside and fluffy inside...*drool*
they come with different toppings...the sugar coated Gauffres is special for the burnt sugary scent...ooolaa laaa..strawberries, choc, banana toppings..u name it, they serve it..







Did you know that this country produces 172,000 tons of chocolate per year?
The Belgian produce chocolate with their traditional way and the 1st praline was manufactured by the Belgians and that the idea of a little chocolate shell filled with delicious creams, ganaches, marzipan and other pralines is born.



some choc machine display i saw ...



The luxury chocolatier started selling fine chocolate in the 1880's before they gain fame through out the globe.Godiva, Neuhaus,Guylian..are not uncommon for you.





The Grandplaz



the Speculaas, the shortcrust biscuits in Belgium.Not cheap.They tell the story about St Nicholas..where the biscuits were stamp and tell stories.





One of the past time in Belgium is beer drinking and here Belgian breweries produce about 800 standard beers.
We came to the place where most beer were serve ...around 500 different kind of beers you can order here.










Some sinful things we did while visiting Belgium...





Last but not least..the Manneqen pis( the peeing little man)..


and the squatting little woman, T___T... just outside the bar we went

cliche

Some of the cliche doings while backpacking in groups..

Everyone wants to be at the perfect spot and angles.Multiple shoots with different portrait but same setting..
Even one person stands on the street,the rest would luurrve to stand too..




Advertorial pose makes the picture juicier!




Everyone becomes animal lover convert.






and baby/babes lovers..




This little one sure has poise in him..=)


When the souvenirs are jaw droppingly arse-painfully unaffordable,all we could do is to eye wash ourselves..

Tips for budget travellars Part II

PartI

If you are a breaky person, the breakfast served at the hostels are convenient enough and time sparing. *tips! you can carry away some finger foods just in case for your long run at outdoors*

Try to be friendly with the local people and you will get travel tips for cheap stuff everywhere. Talk with people about the country and get some cheap travel tips about the place.


While flying a low cost air, usually the destination of the airport is far away from city center.Do research on the airport and if you are planning to put a night at the airport, not every airport operates 24 hours/day.This happened to me while i was in Paris, and me and my friends had to come out with a back up plan to find a place to crash.
I'd blogged about sleeping in airport here. Bare in mind, it's always handy to carry along:
water tumble, vacuum flask,universal socket,facial towel, eye patch, a novel(for book lovers), socks(in case during winter, airport is cold!) and gadgets and some medicines.


If you are traveling during winter, don't forget to keep track on the flight info board cz flight delay and cancellation is a common scenario.

Tips for budget travellars Part I

You can still enjoy traveling if you have a tight bank saving. Budget traveling is enjoyable provided that you make some compromise on your dreams.

Target for cheap air tickets during promotions!
Yes! especially winter sales!! the flight tickets are jaw-droppingly cheap! I don't have a concrete plan when comes to choosing the destination, it all depends on the offers given by the traveling agent.And why i choose winter?Because it's the season when less people travel,accommodation and F&B are also cheaper.

make sure you have your international student identity card with you(ISIC) through out the journey.With this card, you can snatch some tasty deals, from ho(s)tels to F&B,from car rentals to sports,from making calls(international) to medical care, museums and parks,cinemas,and lots more! FYI,usually the traveling agent will provide you a FOC ISIC,so, don't be shy to ask about it.

Do research on the countries you are going.You can google it, read about it in wikipedia, and last but not least, seek advice from friends, families or relatives who had visited the place.Find out if the place worth a visit(if you are having a short stay in the countries),how long should you stay for the visit,and also where to put a night.Yes, when comes to accomodation.....

1.budget
2.location(city center?outskirt?)
3.reviews from travelers
4.cleanliness(i admit Asians are quite particular in terms of hygiene)
another tips, you can register yourself with this site: http://www.tripadvisor.com/, where travellers can share their thoughts and opinions on everything related to traveling, well of course you can post your questions there and friendly travelers will be happy to help out.
To find some affordable accommodation, I can suggest you some useful sites:
http://www.hostels.com/
http://www.hostelworld.com/
http://www.hostelbookers.com/

Here is an example of the hostel search web page,whether you can sort hostels by availability,rating or price and even names.
And make sure you know about the exact location of the hostel. Print out the map which is attached on the site,so that you won't waste redundant hassle.





Remember, read the reviews posted by previous visitors.Regardless of high rankings, they might also a few dissatisfaction that may catch your attention.


Do not pay unwanted facilities, and pay attention to the hidden cost!
If you plan to just put a night and leave the place early before breakfast is served, you can opt for a cheaper hostel without breakfast included.
Read at the facilities and service provided.And not every amenities are counted in your payment.


After you've done with all the bookings with the hostels,remember to print out a copy of the summary.

stay tune for part II.