Tuesday, 25th October 2016 I woke up feeling really refreshed this morning from my comfortable futon. The weather in Naha was rather warm for late October with clear blue skies greeting me. I didn't have an itinerary to follow for my short stay here. Even though I haven't been to the northern half of the island where the touristy Aquarium and the Pineapple Park are located, I haven't have the intention to visit them during this trip either. Instead, I was perfectly happy to remain in Naha city today to spend sometime having an idyllic lunch at the Afternoon Tea Café. I visited the outlet within Ryubo Departmental Store which was next to my hotel. The environment was rather relaxed and inviting even though it was already teeming with people when I visited at 11.30am. I ... read more

Sunday, 23rd October 2016 I spent sometime at the 921 Earthquake Museum today. Getting there was supposed to be very straight forward as the U Bus # 50 would bring me straight to the museum entrance within 45 minutes. However, for some reason, I waited to the point of giving up when the bus failed to appear after 45 minutes. I kept telling myself (and my legs) to persevere for the long wait. When the bus did arrive eventually, it was rather empty despite the long intervals in between the services. Perhaps that explained the low frequency since there was not much of a demand in the first place. The 921 museum was built on the site of a former elementary school in Taichung which was devastated by the powerful earthquake on 21st September 1999. I ... read more

Friday, 21st October 2016 So, on my final mid-haul trip for 2016, I decided to venture back to two familiar territories that I'm rather comfortable with. I would first fly into Taiwan where I would spend a couple of days in Taichung before heading to Naha, Okinawa. Making a side trip to Okinawa made sense since flight time was just slightly one hour from Taipei. On my return from Naha, I would make a stopover in Taipei before heading back to Singapore. Making use of EVA Air's promotion, I managed to spend slightly more than SGD 650 for my SIN-TPE-OKA-TPE-SIN routes. On the afternoon of 21st October 2016, I was ready to fly off to Taipei. Food onboard the flight was pretty decent where I had braised chicken with coconut milk sauce which tasted quite like ... read more

Monday, 22nd August 2016 The usual suspects on my last day in Bangkok revolved around massage, food and shopping. Early morning, I flew off to Healthland Spa @ Sathorn for my 2-hour body massage. I enjoyed it thoroughly as my body was still recovering from the long train journey from the day before. I met up with the guys for dinner @ Apinara Restaurant @ CentralWorld as it was touted as one of the best Thai restaurants in the Capital. Granted that the food was rather tasty, it was a forgettable experience with a rather heavy price tag. We didn't order a feast though. Just tried a couple of platters and small dishes to go with our rice meals. After dinner, S and myself headed to Tesco On Nut for some last minute shopping. The thing ... read more

Saturday, 20th August 2016 The highlight of the day was our gorgeous afternoon tea at Shangri-La Bangkok. Four of us occupied a cosy corner overlooking the busy Chao Phraya River. With attentive service and great pastries, our time passed really quickly in the afternoon. In the evening, I caught up with P at the Greyhounds Café at Siam Centre. This was an easy walk from where I stayed. We knew one another when he was working in Singapore and it was always nice catching up with him whenever I was back in Bangkok. Even though I was quite full from the afternoon meal, we managed to order a few items from the menu to share as we chatted the evening away. The day certainly ended on a fruitful note with wonderful conversations and great company. I ... read more