Category: Beyond the Dot

Hawaii – Big Island, Volcanoes and Hurricanes
Beyond the Dot, Big Island - Volcanoes and Hurricanes, USA

Hawaii – Big Island, Volcanoes and Hurricanes

This blog post is all about Big Island. It’s official name is Hawaii, and the whole Hawaiian state and chain of islands that make up the state is named after it. It’s also the largest island and is 3 times the size of Oahu, but only has a population of around 200,000. All the other islands of Hawaii could fit into Big Island comfortably. Although not as exciting as Oahu which hosts the state’s capital, Honolulu, Hawaii offers more in terms of natural beauty and hot lava action. If you are interested in Oahu, you can find out more on my previous blog post. Continue reading “Hawaii – Big Island, Volcanoes and Hurricanes”

Hawaii – Oahu and Honolulu
Beyond the Dot, Oahu and Honolulu, USA

Hawaii – Oahu and Honolulu

Mention Hawaii to most people and images of tropical island beaches with beautiful girls in grass skirts doing the hula dance comes to mind. Or you might suddenly recall the iconic music of Hawaii 5-O and surfers riding big waves. All these have been ingrained into the consumers’ mind through years of Hollywood and marketing campaigns. However, Hawaii is much more than these stereotypical images, so read on.

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Hokkaido in Winter
Beyond the Dot, Hokkaido in Winter, Japan

Hokkaido in Winter

The northern most island in the Japanese island chain, Hokkaido is also the largest island and is largely undeveloped compared to the other islands. More well known for its beautiful scenery and ski resorts, as well as, the source of Sapporo beer, Hokkaido is still not as popular a destination as the rest of Japan for tourists. Well, I think that first of all it is not easily accessible. You can travel there by car, plane or train, but flying is the easiest and fastest. Secondly, the cost of travelling to Hokkaido itself is pretty expensive.

Update: As of March 2016, the Shinkansen or bullet train now goes to Hakodate from Tokyo in around 4 hours, making it more convenient to travel there. More information on the Shinkansen service can be found here. And for visitors to Japan, we can use the Japan Rail Pass for this ride, making it even more economical to travel. Continue reading “Hokkaido in Winter”

Ubud, Part 2/2 Eat See Wonder
Beyond the Dot, Indonesia, Ubud, Part 2/2 Eat See Wonder

Ubud, Part 2/2 Eat See Wonder

So if you were inspired by the book and movie Eat, Pray, Love to visit Ubud, you can read my previous blog which covers Ubud town itself and what you can do there. In this blog, I will cover the surrounding sights outside of Ubud town which can be done in a day tour. You will most probably need to hire some form of transport to get around if you want to do this as those places mentioned here are at least 5km or more from Ubud center.

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Road Trip Down Under
Australia, Beyond the Dot, Road Trip Down Under

Road Trip Down Under

There’s something exciting about road trips. The idea of just hopping into a car or motorbike and going wherever the road takes you has been immortalized in many films and books. We have taken a few road trips before, but none were as long (distance wise) as a road trip we did in 2005 in Australia, touring the west coast from Perth to Albany. We covered roughly more than 1,000km for this round trip over 3 days.

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England in a Day
Beyond the Dot, England in a Day, United Kingdom

England in a Day

The unthinkable has happened and we have a Brexit, the Sterling Pound has also dropped in value. Many people in Singapore were reported to have rushed down to the money changers to buy Pounds for their next holiday in UK. So if you are like one of the many people eagerly looking at a holiday to UK this year, besides just visiting London, there are more sights to be seen a few hours drive of England’s capital city.

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Golden Circle
Beyond the Dot, Golden Circle, Iceland

Golden Circle

For anyone visiting Iceland, most of them would have heard of the Golden Circle. Well, what is this Golden Circle? It’s a tour of the main attractions that more or less define Iceland, and is a must do for first time visitors. Whether you are going to follow a guided tour or self drive, the route for the Golden Circle is a 300km round trip that can be completed in a day trip from Reykjavik or extended over a few days to enjoy more of the incredible Icelandic scenery.

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