5 - 10 Nov | Blitz through Thailand

I've been getting a lot of questions lately about my holidays. I seem to give everyone the impression that I go on a lot of holidays. Untrue! I think it is due to the timing of my Facebook photo uploads, where I usually upload a whole album (or 2 or 3) of photos from my last trip just before I take off on my next destination. Understandably, people get confused. But the truth is, I take 20 days of annual leave per year like any other Australian worker. In 2009, I took a career break, where I was 'studying' which hardly counts as travel! (Sure some travel happened at the end of my studies, but ask my classmates, I was like the most nerdy tryhard student in the class!) Some people choose to go on domestic trips, I just choose to go on international trips, as domestic trips always ends up being so expensive. So again thanks to Jetstars annual birthday sale of 'Take a friend for free' (is this not evidence I'm a great bargain hunter too? Holidays don't have to be expensive...good thing I've got friends...Thanks Wendy!), I found myself a new destination - Thailand!

Bangkok Skyline from Hotel room @ Lebua State Tower. Have to say Bangkok is gorgeous by night!
One FINE hotel, I highly recommend it!

Even though I've visited Thailand's southern neighbours Singapore & Malaysia so many times in my life, this was my first trip to Thailand, yes I know, I shocked many of my friends. In 3 shorts words - I loved it! It was a short visit, only five nights - 2 in Phuket and 3 in Bangkok, in which I sat on the plane way too many times for such a short break. (Discovered new budget airlines such as Bangkok Airways and Nok Air, both decent airlines for short trips) I would like to say it was a much deserved getaway where I worked so hard prior to this trip, but no, truth is this holiday was not too long after my last. (Hmm...perhaps my friends have a point) However, who says you have to wait a full 6-12 months before one can take off again?

Although I wasn't in Thailand long enough to experience the country in its entirety, I really really enjoyed the small sample I got to taste :) The hospitality, the food, the people, the scenery, the beaches, the traffic, the shopping, the list just goes on! Bangkok was probably the highlight for me, there's a certain buzz in that city that makes it exciting. It is by no means a beautiful or gorgeous city, it is polluted, congested, noisy, yet it finds a way to charm you! The experience was also made better by the fact that I had my gorgeous friend Lily taking us around, she was a brilliant tour guide even though our time spent together was so short! (Next time I will make my trip longer Lily!)

9 Oct | 24 Hours in the Island City | Singapore

We arrived into Singapore early in the morning, and I was glad to find myself in Asia again after the 2 weeks of racing around Europe. After going to all these places, I know my heart belongs in Asia, as I always feel so comforted to land on these soils, no matter which country it may be.

Anyways, mum and I checked ourselves into the same hotel we stayed at 10 years ago. Peninsula-Excelsior which has a fantastic location around Marina Bay. I'm pleased to say the hotel has undergone extensive renovations and the rooms we stayed at was significantly more comfortable than before. The views from the hotel room are quite amazing, and again, quite different to those we saw 10 years ago. How rapid changes happen in Singapore!

View from hotel room of Marina Bay

The obvious new addition to the skyline is the Marina Bay Sands building. I don't know how architects feel about this building? Its definitely futuristic and conceptually intersting. I suppose it fits into the Marina Bay surrounds area given all the futuristic buildings around there.

New building on the block! Marina Bay Sands...
There's a park in the sky

6 Oct - 7 Oct | Land of Fairytales | Bavaria, Germany

You always feel a bit sad when a holiday is reaching its end, yet there's a sense of relief to find yourself on the return journey too. I have to say, the 3 of us were looking forward to returning to Munich. According to my dad, it was 'back to cilivisation' for him. I think he meant German efficiency and precision. And really, you do feel the difference when you travel from the affluent Germany & Austria to the developing Hungary and Czech. 

Well the Prague-Munich rail trip was by far the longest train ride of our trip! More than 6 hours on a train! I can't say we did a great deal but sleep or read our books. It was still great to enjoy the at times mountainous scenery and the autumn scenery always makes me feel so happy.

Scenes from the longest train journey all trip:

On the way back to Germany from Prague

The sun almost breaking through

My sneaky Dad took this pic hahaha
We sat on a Czech train, still way more comfy than Aussie trains!

By the time we got back to Munich, there really wasn't much time to do anything else but enjoy a good meal. My parents were desperate for a non-western meal, so luckily for us we found a great Indian restaurant near the hotel. I have to say, it was as good as the Indian meal I had in London 4 years ago!

Family meal...Indian food in Munich, pretty awesome actually!

The next morning I commenced my final day of Bavaria super early (it was still black outside when I left the hotel), as I booked myself on the popular Castles Tour. I was finally going to see Neuschwanstein Castle!! The castle that inspired Walt Disney, the one built by the 'mad' King Ludwig II. After experiencing several days of grey skies, I was filled with joy to see a blue sunny day in Bavaria!! Oh how I missed the sunshine and blue skies!

First stop: Linderhof Castle - Built by King Ludwig II as a hunting lodge, in the French Rococo style

Look at that! No clouds in the sky

Who doesn't like nice romantic walks in this setting?

The beautiful Linderhof Castle

4 Oct - 5 Oct | City of a Hundred Spires | Prague, Czech Republic

The magical lure of old-Bohemia draws millions of tourists each year to see these lands, often topping peoples ‘must see’ destination lists. The train ride from Vienna to Prague was another scenic, colourful and romantic one, which was in stark contrast to the flat and lacklustre countryside on the Vienna-Budapest journey. I will stress again that the beauty of rail travel is just witnessing the gorgeous scenery passing by, something that is lost in the modern age of air travel.

Prague Castle in a distance...

This was my second visit to Prague. Four years ago Prague left a good impression on me. A city where one can still imagine how Bohemian life may have been, old castles, churches and cobbled stone paths. Second time round I have to say, the glamour and magic had diminished slightly, so it was time to ‘discover’ Prague again by getting lost in those old cobble-street alleys (and thankfully, we did). Last time we took a guided tour of the city, this time we had our own itinerary. One cannot go to Prague and not revisit Prague Castle & Charles Bridge. So that is exactly what we did, both by day and by night.

Prague Castle & Charles Bridge
(if only I had a blue sky day!)

Charles Bridge is definitely the most densely populated touristy part of the city, but at least this time we were onlookers to a bridal photo-shoot. Behaving exactly as paparazzi tourists do, I made sure I captured a photo of the newlyweds. Once we passed Charles Bridge, we were onto giving ourselves a good workout by walking all the way up to Prague Castle. The parents may have complained the walk was too long and steep, but I think they were secretly proud of actually completing the walk to the top, as the views above were amazing! Perhaps a bit museum-ed out from the Vienna visit, we didn’t really check out the Prague Castle museum, preferring to wonder around the castle grounds and eventually walking down to the main town.

Photo shoot!! The crowds weren't moving for a while, this is why!

Entertainer on Charles Bridge

Exiting Charles Bridge

1 Oct - 2 Oct | Grand City of Lights | Budapest, Hungary

Budapest was once a great Romantic City of Eastern Europe, and the remnants of that period in history are obvious. Unlike Vienna where it still is the cultural heartbeat of Central Europe, Budapest appears to be lost in its hey day. That is until you see Budapest light up gloriously at night.

We stayed at the elegant Le Meridien Hotel where we were served by the most welcoming staff all trip. Luckily for us the hotel had a special Friday night Hungarian folk dance performance coupled by an excellent buffet dinner meal. I really wish I had more space to stomach ALL the fantastic desserts. (Yes, greedy!)

The elegant Le Meridien Hotel Room

Hungarian quartet that entertained us all evening

I loved the chandeliers and lights at the hotel restaurant!

28 Sep - 30 Sep | Wien Take 3 | Vienna, Austria

Some people only visit a city once, especially if they have to travel more than 20 hours to get there. Well this was my third visit to Vienna! It is now ranked as highly as Paris as my most frequented overseas destination outside of Asia. I've always been fond of Vienna. It has a certain charm, elegance and beauty surrounding it. It was afterall, the capital of the Habsburg Empire that ruled over vast parts of Europe for centuries.  It's not a mega city on the scale of London or Tokyo, but it is a city that certainly offers everything those big cities offer as well.

A wet Viennese day...interesting lamp post though! Pinocchio?

Hotel Bristol - A classic hotel that we stayed at.

Vienna State Opera House by Night. Just brilliant!

Vienna Concert House (I think)

26 Sep - 28 Sep | Music Sensation | Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg is affectionately known as the City of Mozart - Austria’s beloved musicians’ birth place. There is no shortage of Mozart in this city – one will find him from gardens, to universities to chocolate souvenir pieces. Salzburg’s reign as a world music capital has only been strengthened by the powers of Hollywood. If you know the Sound of Music then you have probably seen Salzburg! As a city with a population of merely 210,000 residents, it has certainly done well to promote itself and become one of the top tourist destinations in the world with more than 5 million visitors per year!

Mozart Chocolates

Universitat Mozarteum

25 Sep - 26 Sep | Snow Capped Mountains | Innsbruck, Austria

The train journey from Munich to Innsbruck was as beauitful and pictureque as the European brochures promote them to be! As it was only day 2 Europe, I went a little snap crazy and took a bit too many blury pictures of the Germany/Austria countryside. Rail travel in Europe must be one of the best ways to see the region(s). It is comfortable, speedy, convenient plus you can get great window views.

One of the better photos from the blurry picture series I have on the cameras

Group photo for the suitcases and bags!

The last time I came to Innsbruck waas 20 years ago, and of course being a kid at the time on a Hong Kong organised tour, I don't remember much. (Lack of Cantonese listening skills at the time being the main factor) So it was as if I came here for the first time! The most striking feature of Innsbruck was seeing the beauty of the Austrian Alps! The snow capped mountains, where clouds decide how it may reveal the beauty of the mountains to you on a daily basis. Thankfully a booking with the Hilton Innsbruck hotel ensured we had a view of this incredible sight from sunrise to sunset. We spent the afternoon meandering the small Tyrolean city centre, visiting the Golden Leaf museum (blitzing it is probably a better word), walking around the gardens, and breathing fresh air, drinking tasty water and eating some nice fresh apples! The simple Austrian country life.

24 Sep - 25 Sep | Bavarian Central | Munich, Germany

My first new destination of 2010 - Munich! Needless to say, I was ecstatic about pinning this new destination down on my 'where i've been to' map! And buzzing with excitement about exploring a new city! Perhaps it's because I walk past the Lowenbrau restaurant on a daily basis, or because one of my most memorable birthdays of recent years was at the Bavarian Beer Cafe, or just the fact that, I've heard great things about Munich (probably just that). The July issue of Monocle magazine also ranked Munich as the No 1 Best Place to Live in 2010, so naturally that added to my curiosity. Munich, the mysterious city...I was about to find out!

After what seemed like a flight never-ending flight, Mum and I finally arrived at Munich approx 6am in the morning to reunite with my Dad. It was the start of the 3/4 family trip, my brother got left out of this leg. And if memory serves me correctly, the last time only the 3 of us traveled together was when I was about 2 years old, ever since then it's been all sorts of family combinations.

Actually the first thing I was excited about was eating German bread. Yes, bread. After months of obsessing with the German bakery near my office, I was excited to be eating German bread in Germany!!! Ahh, genuine German bread, so tasty and fresh :) After a huge breakfast at the Kempinski Airport Hotel (an excellent 5 star hotel right at the airport, too bad I was only there for 3 hours to enjoy the bed and breakfast), we left the airport and went into town for some exploration.

Genuine German Bread!!

At the Kempinski Airport Hotel

19 Sep - 21 Sep | Journey to Sitiawan | Sitiawan, Malaysia

A trip to Malaysia is never ever complete unless we stop by to my mum's home town - Sitiawan. This time round it was a fun family trip down with my mum, brother, aunty and 2 cousins. After a 3 hour bumpy ride down to Sitiawan (thanking Lei Lei & Xien for driving us down), we managed to catch my uncle for a short 5 minutes!! Last time I saw him was 6 years and after saying Hello he disappeared to go to work when he had 2 sisters,1 nephew, 1 niece, 1 son and 1 daughter visiting. I guess we weren't so lucky with timing, but it was still good to catch him for that brief moment.

Driving down to country-side Malaysia

Typical scene - quite a contrast to the hustle and bustle of KL



Welcome to Sitiawan!


Like all my Sitiawan visits, it consists of mainly eating and relaxing in this little kampung. Small town life is bliss. My favourite food is the RM0.60 Roti Canai + malaysian milk tea. It's great to start a day by indulging in this way :) (Not the healthiest, but my visits are always too short to consider health!) Next favourite is devouring the seriously good, fresh seafood and excellent Foo Chow (hok-chew/fuzhou) dishes 福州菜.  As one can tell from the next few pics, we ate a lot!

Noodles 乾拌麵! A daily order! 

 

Roti Canai + others

Foochow cuisine is known for its soupy-ness!



A soup I can only have in Sitiawan

Awesome crabs!

 

Most of our dinners were spent eating at an outdoor coconut planatation restaurant

This time round we stayed at my grand aunt's place; which I have to say was one of my most comfortable Sitiawan stay in a long time! It was also lovely to be in a chatty household with the aunties and uncles. My grand aunt, age 91 this year, is still a busy woman making patch quilts! Amazing.

I only caught up her on camera as she was about to pack up the sewing machine

I love how she uses an antique sewing machine!

We also did some shopping too - but of a completely different kind. See us hard at work at my mum's uncles old shop in search of some buttons. My mum had all of us working hard!

Working hard - like a sweatshop!

After button sorting, we went next door to shop a bit more.
I love the old-school display style of this shop.

I just thought it was fascinating how toys are hung up!

And one of the best parts of the visit, was seeing my 5 year old cousin for the first time! Very cheeky boy.  He looks exactly like my uncle too.

Sitiawan will never really be a town a non-Malaysians will visit, but it certainly has its character and charm. I hope my next visit to Sitiawan/KL/Malaysia will not be another 6 years. Quick, someone organise a wedding again soon! I need to book time in for another visit!

Streetview

Until next time Malaysia & all the coconut trees!

17 Sep | Touch-down Kuala Lumpur

I'm pleased to announce I have resumed my 2010 travels!

After a long absence of 6 years, I am back in Malaysia! Where my first travels started as a young kid. It's good to be back!

Like all my Malaysian holidays, I have no control over the itinerary, which is not my preferred mode of travel. But I am positive there will be plenty of eating to be done! Hopefully food and family photos in the next post!

The Amazing Race v2.0 - Japan Dec 2009

Who would have thought after The Amazing Race of 2008, I'd be going back to Japan so soon? Well, it just shows life is not always predictable and sometimes things will pop up and you just grab the opportunity to take them!

So here I was again, with a different travel partner and a different itinerary. (or lack thereof one) Unlike 2008 where Simmy and I spent months researching, planning, discussing our itinerary, this one was a last minute, oh Japan is close, there are cheap tickets, let's go! Type of holiday. If there was one thing I learnt about living in Taipei, that is, your life doesn't need to be so rigidly planned out. Relax a bit. Take things as they come! (Some people will still say I need to relax a lot more...)

If you don't wish to read my lengthy account of the travels, here are the concise stats.

• No of Days: 9 days, 9 nights
• Travel Route: Taipei-Tokyo-Hiroshima-Himeji-Kyoto-Kobe-Osaka-Tokyo-Taipei
• Ramen Meal Count: 5
• Sushi/Sashimi Meal Count: 5
• Sake/Beer/Cocktails Count: 9
• Cities Visited: 6
• Hotel Count: 6 - And that includes 3 in just Tokyo

Waterfall @ Wulai

Waterfall @ Wulai
Originally uploaded by rac_chen

For such a small island, Taiwan does have its fair share of beautiful sights that the large majority of the world are unaware of.

I captured this photo back in Nov 15th 2009 when a few of us went on a day trip to Wulai 烏來 in Taipei County 台北縣.

Most people go to Wulai for the hot spring experience or to see the 80m Wulai Waterfall, and if they are feeling adventurous, ride on a rather scary cable car to get a closer look at the main waterfall.

We were feeling adventurous in a different sense. Initially we planned to walk to Neidong 內洞 since the tourist map indicated more waterfalls to see, and it didn't look too far away (on the map!). We obviously looked a confused as a local business owner approached us and offered to take us to that area in his car for NT$X, saying it would take us an hour to walk there. Somehow the four of us were talked into it and took up his offer and literally went for the ride!

A strange experience it was. But the guy was indeed honest and friendly enough to deliver on his promises. He assumed the role of a tour guide quite well, even told us how to pose for photos!

Back to the photo, I am so glad we paid the guy to drive us to Neidong 內洞 as the waterfalls were truly magnificent! You have to walk a bit within the park to get there, but I'd highly recommend the journey!!

Missing my second 'home'

I spend a lot of time on the internet. And it is not something I am ashamed of, because it's one way to pass time, learn new things and revisit the old. You can even travel the world on the internet!

As I was browsing through A Hungry Girl's Guide to Taipei, a regular read now that I am no longer living in my second home, I was excited to see she posted an entry about a pizza place near my apartment, my 'hood' in Taipei! I used to walk pass that Pizza Place - So Free Pizza & Cheese ALL THE TIME, but never actually ate the pizza there because I was thinking, I can get pizza back home, why bother?! It's one of those things I now regret as it was so accessible to me, literally a 5 minute walk from my room, yet somehow there were not enough days and meals in my 3.5 months in Taipei to actually give that place a go. I was tempted to try it on so many occasions, but just held back!

At least pictures (taken from So Free's blog) of the Pizza place can bring back memories of my time there. Awesome time in my life it was! And yes I did witness such massive queues, perhaps another reason why I never gave that place a go.

And these are the goodies I missed out on trying...

Fresh mushrooms Asparagus pizza

Kimchi pizza with dried tofu (豆干) - strange yet appealing!

In case people are wondering, why these strange combinations? It's a vegetarian pizza place. Another thing I miss about Taipei, absolutely amazing vegetarian food. Sometimes I had 'vegetarian' days just cuz I could!

Do I miss my time in Taipei? My friends would say obviously YES!! Planning a September 2010 visit already :) (At least in my head) Hope it eventuates given I will be going to Malaysia this September!! It's been 5 years since I've been to my parents home country. I'm already looking forward to all the food consumption and photos to take...just need to wait 6 months...