Blogs from Asia - page 12994

When we got to Madurai on March 11th it was late, and we went straight to our chosen hotel by rickshaw. Our hotel—Sree Devi—was located breathtakingly close to the Meenakshi Temple complex, and according to our guidebook it was “spotless” and “great value.” Two bellhops led us into the tiny rickety elevator, insisting that all four of us crowd in with our bags despite the fact that we were nearly on top of each other, and could much more easily have taken two trips. Our room was small, windowless, filthy—to the point of dirty handprints and hairs all over the sheets—and absolutely reeked like a pile of trash that has been stewing in the sun for days. We’d had some less-than-perfect rooms before, but this one was certainly the worst. But by then it was ... read more

March 12 ~ March 15, 2007 Diving in bohol was an awesome experience. I get to enjoy a different kind of blissfulness in another dimension of space. Being down under has given me the opportunity to see an untouched paradise that i will always want to go back, time after time. Memorable also was that I met fellow divers and on that trip i was the only pinoy on board. It was pretty good being around them and not that intimidating because they were very supportive, helpful and friendly who shares the same passion with me. My diving buddies are Lur (german guy) and Dave (american guy) whose infectious passion has caught up with me. Dave was also responsible for taking pictures of me while I was diving. Diving has given me the opportunity to ... read more

Our first trip into the biggest trip into the city in South Korea :) We finnished work earlier than usual (prob around 4ish) and as it's a pretty far drive into the city we decided to make the most of it and go for it. We ended up missing the 4:15 bus (You need to pay attention ALL the time at the bus stop cos unless you wave for the bus, they won't stop for you! oh well.) So had to wait for the 4:45 instead. The trip into Seoul took an hour and a half on the bus, and then another 10min on the subway to get to Yongsan (where we wanted to be). We met a really sweet lady on the bus who's invited us to come to her house for a home cooked ... read more

As we turned the corner, walked through the portcullis gate and took our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal, we were overwhelmed with the sense that we'd remember this day for a long time to come. It's such an iconic site that when we first booked our 'around the world' tickets with a homebound flight from Delhi, we could picture ourselves there, at the end of the year's adventures. We stood in the shade and thought back on the year - the exhaustion during the Inca Trail, the adrenaline rush during our skydive, the homesick feeling at Christmas time, the joy at seeing the sun rise over Ankor Wat, the serene beauty of reef diving in Thailand, the fear of poisonous animals in the jungle, contentment in New Zealand, the boredom of taking yet another train..bus..car..plane..ride, ... read more

Last March 16, my friend Froila and I headed to Singapore. My other friend Nhuj from China followed us to Singapore the next day. Singapore is a very small country maybe just as big as Quezon City (one city of metro manila) with a population of only 4.8 million people making it very manageable. Singapore also had several ethnic groups of Indian, Malay and Chinese. What I love about this country: 1. Transportation system - Singapore has a very nice transport system. Taking the MRT is very convenient. It has a link to all places and shopping malls in Singapore without getting lost. Our EZ link card which we put a credit of $20 lasted in our almost five days stay just for taking the ride in MRT and the bus. This card can also be ... read more