When I hear someone describe their trip to Switzerland, very often it’s about visiting the Swiss Alps. The Swiss Alps is a generic term and there are more mountains than you can shake your hat at in Switzerland. Previously, I had blogged about Zermatt, a ski resort for the rich and famous. Unlike Zermatt which is all about the majesty of the Matterhorn, Jungfraujoch is all about ‘in your face’ Swiss Alps tourism.
This post is connected to my previous post on Arnhem since they happened during the same visit. As I was staying over the weekend during my working trip, I asked the Dutch guys about interesting places to visit nearby, and the names of Volendam and Markem came up, since they could be visited in a day trip from Arnhem. Continue reading “Volendam and Marken Island”
Located in the central highlands of Bali, Ubud is considered to be the cultural center of Bali. Surrounded by numerous rice paddies and ravines, this small town has grown popular due to tourists’ interest in Balinese arts and crafts, and yoga. Compared to the hedonistic Kuta and the luxurious Nusa Dua beaches, Ubud seems worlds away. Continue reading “Bird Watching in Ubud, Bali”
This was originally featured in my earlier blog post on Chengdu and Leshan, but I’ve decided to have a separate post for this instead of having it being lost in an old and long blog post. Located in Sichuan, China, is this preserved coal burning steam locomotive that travels deep into the mountains to a unique village where time has essentially stood still since the Cultural Revolution. Continue reading “Time Travel to the Cultural Revolution – Jiayang (嘉阳) & Bajiaogou (芭焦沟)”
The sound of croaking frogs and buzzing insects surrounded me as I trudged through the rocky trail. It was still dark before the dawn and the land was still asleep, but for the restless souls like me trapped in this time between sleep and awakening. I could see in the distance, the moving pin-points of torches forming a broken line leading up towards the top of the mountain’s silhouette that loomed ahead of me. The humidity was unforgiving and I was uncomfortably drenched with sweat. What had started out as breathless excitement had soon degenerated into breathless exhaustion and I thought to myself “What was I thinking of? I could have been sleeping on the comfortable 4 poster bed of my hotel room and enjoying the complimentary buffet breakfast.” Continue reading “Climbing an Active Volcano in Bali”
We all know The Netherlands (or better known as Holland internationally) as the land of windmills and tulips, and also not forgetting that they contributed wooden clogs and Heineken beer to popular culture. Besides the more well known cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Arnhem is a city on the eastern side of The Netherlands. Most people may not know about Arnhem (sometimes spelled Arnheim which is the German name), but once you mention about the war film ‘A Bridge Too Far’, this city becomes prominent as it was the site of a famous battle in WW2. Continue reading “A Bridge Too Far – Arnhem”
This coming 19th of February will be the start of the Chinese lunar new year, or also known as the Spring Festival. This day marks the start of spring and Chinese everywhere will be celebrating. While staying in tropical Singapore, you won’t get to see any change in seasons, but it gets obvious once you step out of the Little Red Dot. Continue reading “Season of Spring”
I came across this bridge when I made a trip from Wuxi to Ningbo taking the local bus. One of the longest trans-oceanic bridges in Asia, Hangzhou Bay Bridge is more than 35km long and has a service center with restaurant and hotel at the mid-point. I wonder who would want to stay on a bridge? Continue reading “Hangzhou Bay Bridge”
Malacca or Melaka in Malay is the capital city of Malacca state in Malaysia. Easily accessible by road from Singapore, it’s always crowded with tourists from Singapore and locally. Once a thriving Portuguese colony, it’s now a historical town with UNESCO World Heritage status. Besides the Portuguese ruins, the other centre of attraction is Jonker Street. Continue reading “On a Little Street in Malacca”
I’m sure many of us working people travel for business, be it in your own country or internationally. Work travel is usually more stressful than not. There are deadlines to meet, objectives to be fulfilled and when you get back home, there is no rest; reports and expense claims need to be submitted. Continue reading “The Misadventures of a Business Traveler”
Beyond the Little Red Dot 