15 Oct 2011 | The National Pass + Katoomba, Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains is a popular day-trip destination for many Sydney-siders and tourists alike. Sydneysiders like myself make trips to the mountains to escape citylife, enjoy nature, breath in the fresh mountain air and just chill. There's also enough going on in the mountains to keep city people entertained...at least for a weekend. This time however, me and a group of girlfriends decided we should be more 'active', so we planned to give bushwalking/hiking a go.

It took us about 2.5 hours to drive from the city (on a Friday night) to Medlow Bath, just one station away from the more popular, touristy Katoomba. A friend of mine (check out her travel blog here) booked us into this lovely B&B - 'The Chalet' - which is a delightful guesthouse featuring a large number of modern Australian art throughout the property. The main dining/living area in particular is a mecca of great art books and art works. If we had experienced bad weather that weekend, I would have gladly enjoyed a day 'in' just reading up on the art books by the fireplace. This guesthouse was definitely one with character and charm which I'd recommend to anyone wanting something 'different' for the trip to the mountains.The guesthouse had excellent facilities and a family room suited the four of us fine.

In the dining room...surrounded by great art!

Tea & Chat time! My fave part of the photo - the images in the mirror! 

On Saturday morning, after much deliberation - to hike or not to hike as the weather looked questionable; then which hike out of the 100 available trails in the blue mountains? We finally decided to go on 'The National Pass' - a 6km hike around the Wentworth Falls region of the Blue Mountains.

All I can say is that the hike was simply stunning. I am so glad we decided to hike because the weather worked out perfectly for us. There were a few wet areas from the previous nights rain where I had to be careful and walk slowly to avoid tripping in my running shoes (memories of Taipei 2009 and tripping whilst hiking were haunting me), but nothing that requires too much skill or experience. I personally have a fear of going down stairs, so again I was slow on those parts of the walk. But made up time as I like going on the ascent! The worst part of the hike was actually just the last 10 minutes, due to the ever increasing rather than diminishing number of stairs one had to climb; and the increasing temperature and humidity. Plus I think a large part of the tiredness/fatigue was just mental endurance by that stage. The great thing about being active is the sense of accomplishment. The walk took us approx 3 hours  including a 20 minute lunch break.

I will now let the photos show and convince you that Australia just has some of the best scenery in the world.

Blue Mountains

Scenery from start of hike

First glimpses of water

I just love waterfalls! 

Nature at its best. 

Parts of our hike...

Amazing rocks

Wentworth Falls (I believe!)

Creative shot!

Obsession with waterfalls continues...

Even though I've visited The Blue Mountains over the years, it had actually been about 15 years since I last saw the Three Sisters at Katoomba. We couldn't have picked a more appropriate time to catch sunset and the sister light up by night.

Sunset colours at Katoomba Three Sisters Lookout

Three Sisters by sunset

Next update: Leura Walkabout

Travel Hiatus

My blog has been empty for the last couple of months because quite simply. I have not left Australia. Sadness.

There was an option to travel around England with my parents, but I finally decided to give my career a good go, rather than take my neverending holidays. I hope it pays off some time in the future...otherwise, there's reason to be sad about that too. (In all seriousnesss, I think it was a good thing I stayed in Sydney to work on a few interesting projects)

So to compensate for lack of flights out of this city, I've been trying to get out of Sydney...

Just last weekend I went to the Blue Mountains for a weekend-away trip with the girls. Unlike most 'girly' trips, this was not the 'relaxing' type. So stay tuned as I will be blogging about that trip! I will say it was an awesome trip to keep my readers (if there are any left!) amused.

Back in August, I also went up to the Central Coast (Gosford/Terrigal) - to see a friend and her family. August was literally the first time I left Sydney since March this year. It's hard to believe that once you stop moving, you really stop moving. And just a drive out of the Sydney Metropolitan area becomes an accomplishment. I was so pleased that I did get out of Sydney that day though - just for a change of scenery and vibe; and of course to see a friend I had not seen in a few years and her new bub who is just so adorable!

This weekend I have a trip to Jervis Bay for an 'adventure' challenge. I'm getting quite excited about seeing the white sands and the crystal clear waters of Jervis Bay. The first time I ever went to Jervis Bay was when I was 11 years old, and I still have a clear memory of the beauty of this place. Now, I just need to get through that adventure challenge and then I can relax and take in the scenery of Jervis Bay.

Now for overseas travel...any news??

I will be travelling somewhere for Christmas 2011! My first Christmas away from Sydney in 4 years! I am getting quite excited about it. I am not going to a new place at all, in fact, to the country I have been to the most number of times - Malaysia. I usually don't consider a trip to Malaysia as a holiday at all, but I just have to take what I can get. 11 Days in Malaysia, I really hope to cover more than the usual KL & Sitiawan this time. I must! Hope to be seeing Penang, Melacca and maybe Singapore to visit friends if time permits. But the point of Malaysia 2011, is really to end the year in a relaxed state. I've been on-the-go these last few months in terms of everything, and I just need to take some time out. Need to start 2012 full of energy so I can conquer more countries and travel. So far I am thinking France & England...but who knows?!

5 Mar - 6 Mar | Singa-bore, No more lah! | Singapore

Singapore, a familiar yet foreign destination for me. Our affairs are so brief. A simple exchange of 'Hello & Goodbye' - that's been the extent of our encounter. Over the years I have learnt to navigate my way around Singapore Airport T3 like it is my second home. I know where to find my kaya toast with milk tea; to find the internet terminal with the least people; to find my favourite shops to satisfy my need to browse but not buy; to find a place to sleep on those brief stopovers. Routine and familiarity. 'Singapore', the city outside the confined space of an orderly and homely airport terminal - I've never known you too well. Although I have come to visit you on countless occasions, and experienced a close encounter of almost setting up life in Singapore 17 years ago, you have still been a stranger all these many years. This time, no. I am determined to venture beyond T3 and discover Singapore the modern Asian metropolis booming with activity under the hot equatorial sun.

I only just visited Singapore 6 months ago in October; but it was a whirlwind visit where I didn't really have much time to explore. This time, I was determined to do a bit of sightseeing and exploring for once.  Here are the highlights of my 48 hour stopover! (still a short trip!)

Raffles Hotel - One of Singapore's most famous hotel and landmark, and for very good reason. After 20 or so years visiting Singapore, this was my first time walking 'inside' the hotel. It is a grand, gorgeous hotel that takes you back to the Colonial days of Singapore aka 1920s. In a city where the newest project always attracts the most attention and fanfare, this is definitely a welcome change from the modernity of Singapore. I arrived at this hotel to have lunch with my friend S whom I hadn't seen since Taipei 2009! She treated me to a lovely Nasi Lamak lunch with a Singapore Sling (invented at this very hotel around 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon at the Long Bar) @ The Empire Cafe - a delightful 1920s style 'Coffee House' cafe with local dishes and some international dishes. You will not find 'value for money' here, but a colonial-Singaporean experience! I definitely recommend coming here during your Singapore stopover.

Raffles Courtyard



Nasi Lemak @ Empire Cafe...HUGE servings!



Tourists lounging @ Long Bar



3 Mar | 喝茶，享受 － 這是我愛的台北 | Taipei, Taiwan

My ideal 3 day trip would have included an outing to either Jiufen 九份 or Yangmingshan National Park 陽明山國家公園. As I've mentioned in the last 2 blog entries, the weather in Taipei was just too cold and wet this time to go to either destination, so we settled on a mini-trip to Maokong 貓空. (I've got no idea how this place derived its name as it sounds so strange even in Chinese!) The decision was also made easier by the fact that the Maokong Gondola 貓空纜車 rides were advertised extensively on the Taipei City MRT trains.

When I was here in 2009, the Maokong Gondola rides were not even in operation as they were under extensive repairs. I was told they were the scariest gondola rides one could go on. (In actual fact, they had to shut down the service as a typhoon caused significant landslides near one of the Gondola towers in 2008) And the only other way to get there was to rely on a friend/acquaintance to drive you there to enjoy the Taipei City views and drink tea. We were game to try these new gondola rides, well at least I didn't tell M the history of this until we were on the return journey down from the mountains! Ignorance sure is bliss on such occasions.

The new and improved gondola rides @ Maokong

To get to Maokong it couldn't be simpler - simply hop on the brown Wenhu MRT line 文湖線 and head to Taipei Zoo Station. When you get out of the station, you will be greeted by cute cartoon characters such as the ones below, and you just need to follow the signs to get to the Gondola station (about a 5 minute walk). Once there, you will be presented with the option to go on the 'Crystal' cabin rides or the normal ones. I didn't know what the difference was so simply went for the non-crystal rides as there was no queue! (We later took the crystal rides on the descent. It just means the floor of the cabin is made of glass so you can see through it).

太可愛了吧！

2 Mar | Out and about in Taipei 遊台北 | Taipei, Taiwan

There’s never a dull moment when you have a list of twenty things to get through with only 2 days left to go!

Breakfast 早餐
The best way to start the day in Taipei is to visit the famous Taiwanese breakfast establishment known as ‘Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wang’ 永和豆漿大王 . Yong He 永和 is a large city just outside of Taipei City itself, and they are known to make the best soya milk in the whole country. Thankfully most successful Taiwanese businesses follow the franchise model, so there was no need to travel to Yong He to taste the soya milk, as a 5 minute walk by foot was enough to find our breakfast. (And chances are, no matter where you stay in Taipei, you will find the ‘Yong He’ brand) Here I began what was a consistent theme on this holiday – over ordering.

Just some of the things available for breakfast

Dude cooking our breakfast

Here I am with our breakfasst

As one can see from the photos below we devoured the deliciously good soya milk 豆漿 with fried bread sticks 油條 + raddish cakes 蘿蔔糕 + chinese style omelettes 蛋餅. There's a lot more on the menu but I probably needed a party of five to at least get through half the menu! This is one of the best ways to taste an authentic Taiwanese breakfast on a budget. All this food for under AU$5. Bargain.

Address: 永和豆漿大王 located at 102 Fuxing South Road, Sec. 2 復興南路2段102號

National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院
It seems appropriate that after a heavy breakfast we should walk it off at one of the top museums in the world. The National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院 is a ‘Must See’ attraction for any first-timers to Taiwan, and in my opinion, repeat visitors! The National Palace Museum ranks up there with other top art museums including The Louvre and The Metropolitan Museum of Art for its incredible collection of the finest Chinese antiquities. There are over 675,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts ranging some 8000 years! You will find pieces from the Neolithic age to the last Chinese dynasty - the Qing dynasty. It is simply astounding to see how the Chinese civilisation has progressed in those 8,000 years and continue to progress in this modern age. Despite what history has written about Chiang Kai Shek, I still applaud him for taking all these artifacts from Mainland China and housing it in this incredible museum. I'm not sure if these artifacts could have survived war time China. My love for walking around museums and admiring artworks can definitely be attributed to my childhood spent living in Taipei. My mum cultivated in us an appreciation for history and fine arts via frequent visits to this amazing museum. Unfortunately, one cannot take photos inside the museum, so I only have external shots.

To get to the National Palace Museum
1. Take the MRT Danshui line to Shilin station 
2. Catch the Red 30 bus or bus 255 to the Museum

National Palace Museum
- 100 Years of the Republic of China

1 Mar | Taipei Revisited | Taipei, Taiwan

If you read this blog, you would know that Taipei is pretty much my 2nd 'home'. As Hong Kong is so close to Taiwan, I couldn't let a side trip to Taipei slip through my fingers! I went to Taipei this time with a good friend of mine, where we spent a good 3 days here exploring all we could in the short time frame.

One of the more surprising things about Taipei this trip was the weather. I thought it was going to warm up to the late-teens/early twenty degrees mark, not too dissimilar to HK, which would have meant good sightseeing weather. Nope, we got freezing cold 13 degrees and 2 unprepared travelers with just a thin blazer on hand! It was all grey skies as well, not the bright sunny Taipei I left behind 14 months ago. I had planned out this Taipei trip quite thoroughly, down to snacks and meals, but the weather put a dent on certain plans. I had to change the itinerary a bit, which was a bit annoying as I had drafted out everything on my lovely excel spreadsheet (I can't help it, itineraries are best done on spreadsheets!) I cut out a few things...M wouldn't have known otherwise :P

PS: I am splitting the posts into 'days' as I will never finish anything if I were to update everything in one go.


Day 1:
Once we settled into the very comfortable and convenient Park Hotel Taipei (I highly recommend it - 2 people for about $120/night), we went out in hunt of food! Taiwan is known amongst other Chinese groups for its fabulous food, but I must say since I have lived on the spices of South-East asian cuisine for so long, I am still biased. (Go Malaysian/Singaporean cuisine!) Yes Taiwanese food is great, but only if you know what to eat imo. I took M to one of my all time favourite Taiwanese eatery - 度小月. Here you will find a wholesome Taiwanese meal with a couple of updated fusion dishes to delight your palate. I like to ease people into the Taiwanese way of eating, and this place is the perfect transition restaurant. You will find great food, in a very nice setting at cheap prices. It is almost like going to a street vendor, but in a high class setting! The restaurant has been around since 1894 so you cannot go wrong here!

Street vendor-like store front

So much to eat, but only 2 travelers!

1 bowl of dry noodles, 1 bowl of soup noodles, and 1 fusion-sushi roll dish

27 Feb 2011 | Karen & Brian's Big Day | Hong Kong

Another wedding, another overseas trip!

This time I went to Hong Kong to attend my uni friends - Karen & Brian's wedding celebrations. I've known Karen since first year uni, and she is one of the few friends I made in 1st year uni that I am still friends with today :) And Brian, well, he started appearing at events (badminton games, dinners, or just generally giving Karen lifts everywhere!) when the two of them were still 'friends' :P It's always nice to go to weddings when you see the union blossom into something far greater and more meaningful, I just had to attend this wedding even though my annual leave balance is now well and truly into the negative numbers.

It was definitely a fun and festive wedding! Enjoyed the whole day from the morning Chinese tea ceremony & 'games'; to the lovely afternoon church ceremony; to the elegant and classy dinner reception at the ever so glamorous Four Seasons Hotel.

Here are the highlights of the wedding...enjoy!

Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Lam!


祝你們百年好合，白頭偕老！
我真的很榮幸能參加你們的婚禮！
一切都安排的很周到，完美，優雅。
是一個非常感人的婚禮，尤其Brian獻歌給Karen的那一刻 :)

26 Feb - 28 Feb, 2011 | Fragrant Harbour | Hong Kong

Hong Kong - the 'fragrant harbour' city characterised by tall skyscrapers, dim-sums and Jackie Chan! Truthfully, I think it is one of the most gorgeous cities in Asia - I love admiring the brightly-lit skyscrapers that adorn Victoria Harbour by night . It is a sight that takes my breath away always.

Afternoon view of Hong Kong...no time to see it by night this trip!

The purpose of this trip was to attend my friends wedding, which you will be able to read in my next blog post. As that event only took up one day, I had approx 1.5 days to cram all the sightseeing, catch up, shopping & eating I wanted to do in this city. Time was ticking!

Lights, Signs, Action @ Causeway Bay