autumncs - Lau Chau Sang

Born in Hong Kong and currently living in Singapore, I am a guy who loves travelling. Like many "travelholics" at TravelBlog, I'm so addicted to travelling that once I stopped travelling I will have withdrawal symptoms. Hence, to cure my addiction, I have to go somewhere at least once every 2 months. (I must admit that it is an expensive addiction. Haha. But at least addiction to travel is healthier than addiction to drugs/smoking/drinking...)

I started using TravelBlog when I was doing my internship in Canada in 2005. (For older photos before my Canadian internship, please refer to "http://autumncsfoto.blogspot.com/") One of my most remarkable experiences in Canada was to travel from Vancouver to Seattle for only US$4, and you can read about it here. (Somehow, this post had become the most popular post in my TravelBlog account, and even today (4 years after the US$4 trip) I still have people asking me about it...)

Ever since, I have travelled widely in North America, Europe and Asia. (However, I travelled so much that I have no time to blog all my trips here in TravelBlog.) After graduation, I went to UK to work for 18 months, and I used the opportunity to travel all around Europe. In fact, I'm proud to say that I have visited all European countries except Russia, Belarus, Ukraine & Moldova (I need a visa to visit these 4 countries... so, I will leave these countries for another time...)

Right now I'm back in Singapore and I have a 2-year work contract. Hence, for these 2 years I will be visiting places around Asia (and Oceania if I have time). Perhaps, 2 years later, when I get sick of my current job, I will move to another country to continue my studies or to find employment. If this really happens, I can start another wave of conquest... (conquering new destinations, that is...)

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Joined on: November 14th 2005
Last Login: November 30th 2009

Blog Entries: 74
Photos: 3191

TB Code: [blogger=8834]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by autumncs, order by Date newest first.

By autumncs
November 1st 2009

Savoring the "Big Durian" - Day 3 & 4 Asia » Indonesia » Java » Jakarta

Jalan Jaksa - the backpacker street of Jakarta

2 days ago (on the 1st day) I didn't manage to go up to the observation deck of the Monas (National Monument), so the first stop of the day was naturally the Monas. The Monas, which symbolises the Indonesia's independence, was completed in 1975 under the direction of President Sukarno. President Sukarno insisted on building the monument despite the poor economy of the nation, hence the monument has the nickname "Sukarno's last erection". When I arrived, a queue already formed outside the elevator to the observation deck. I queued for around 30 minutes, before it was my turn to squeeze into [View Full Entry]

A horse-carriage outside Gambir Railway Station

By autumncs
October 31st 2009

Savoring the "Big Durian" - Day 2 Asia » Indonesia » Java » Jakarta

A Transjakarta bus stop

After breakfast, I took a Transjakarta bus to Kota, Jakarta's historic district. Modelled after Curitiba's bus rapid transit, Transjakarta buses travel on dedicated traffic-free lanes and stop at dedicated platforms. Of course, Transjakarta cannot compared with Singapore's MRT, Kuala Lumpur's monorail or Bangkok's SkyTrain. Nevertheless, taking a Transjakarta bus is better than being stuck in a horrible traffic jam. The system was surprisingly efficient, and the services surprisingly frequent. Arriving at Kota, I walked through the busy Kota Railway Station and through a jumble of bajajs, [View Full Entry]

A stream of Bajaj (3 wheel cabs) and an Opelet (motorbike cab)

By autumncs
October 30th 2009

Savoring the "Big Durian" - Day 1 Asia » Indonesia » Java » Jakarta

Landing at Jakarta Airport

Mention "Jakarta", and most people will think of a chaotic city with traffic jams, smogs, slums, beggars, touts, floods, riots, and a bunch of other bad things. Thanks to all these negative impressions, Jakarta acquired the nickname "Big Durian", which more or less summarises the characteristics of the city - smelly, thorny, thick-skinned, overwhelming.... Hence, it's not surprisingly that Jakarta is not a popular travel destination. (Most tourists who went to Indonesia probably spent most of their time in Bali... That's why when I visit a bookstore I will normally see a big pile of Bali maps [View Full Entry]

By autumncs
October 27th 2009

One day in Brunei Asia » Brunei » Bandar Seri Begawan

Kuala Lumpur LCC Terminal

Feeling bored in (tiny) Singapore and having withdrawal symptoms from my "travel-addiction", I decided to take a short trip to Brunei and collect another stamp in my passport. Since direct flights between Singapore and BSB (Bandar Seri Begawan) were ridiculously expensive, I chose to fly on AirAsia and transit at Kuala Lumpur. Upon arrival at BSB airport, it was already 8pm and there were no more buses. (Buses stop running after 7pm.) So I had no choice but to take a B$25 cab to my hotel. Along the way, I had a sense of deja-vu. The streets of BSB looked like [View Full Entry]

By autumncs
June 9th 2009

Poson trip Day 7 - The last day Asia » Sri Lanka » Western Province » Colombo

Swimming pool of Full Moon Garden Hotel

Today was the last day of our trip to Sri Lanka. Since our Bhante (Buddhist teacher cum organiser of this trip) went to Chennai, India, early in the morning, the rest of us decided to take things slowly today. After waking up at 8am and having a slow breakfast, we packed our luggage and waited for our bus to take us to downtown Colombo for some shopping. However, due to some misunderstanding, the bus arrived very late. (We waited for more than 1 hour...) Nevertheless, we still had a couple of hours to spare, so we went to Manning Market (in [View Full Entry]

By autumncs
June 8th 2009

Poson trip Day 6 - Post-"Santa Claus-ing" sightseeing Asia » Sri Lanka » North Central Province » Anuradhapura

Our room in Miridiya Lodge, Anuradhapura
Finally we can afford to wake up later than the previous few days...

After 2 days of intensive giving/donating/offering, today we could afford to wake up a bit later and have a relaxed breakfast. Since we spent most of the past 2 days doing charity work and didn't manage to have much sightseeing, today our Bhante decided to bring us around Anuradhapura and Mihintale for some cultural sightseeing. We first went to the Sri Maha Bodhi (Sacred Bodhi Tree) temple, in the middle of the Anuradhapura's ancient site. The sacred tree was grown from a cutting taken from the original bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, India, where Buddha attained enlightenment. The cutting was bro [View Full Entry]

Gathering at the office of Sri Maha Bodhi's chief monk

By autumncs
June 7th 2009

Poson trip Day 5 - Full-time "Santa Claus" for 1 day Asia » Sri Lanka » North Central Province » Mihintale

Arriving at Mihintale (again)
Most people wore white clothes to celebrate Poson - the day when Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka

This day was definitely the highlight of this trip. Never in my life had I done so much charity work in 1 day... Not only we did charity work at Mihintale, the holiest place in Sri Lanka, we also went to several refugee camps in northern Sri Lanka to give/offer/donate/distribute... This day was also one of the holiest day in Sri Lanka, as it was Poson day - the day when Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka in 3rd century BC by Arahat Maha Mahinda (son of King Asoka of India), who appeared before the Sri Lankan King at Mihintale. Poson [View Full Entry]

Our Sri Lankan counterparts busily preparing breakfast

By autumncs
June 6th 2009

Poson trip Day 4 - The real work began... Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Kandy

Kandy Tooth Relic Temple

The first 3 days of our trip is pretty blissful, as it was purely sightseeing. On the 4th day, things started to get much more "interesting". This was the day when the REAL work began. (The actual aim of this trip was to make offerings to monks, pilgrims, students, war refugees, etc... It's just that my mum and I arrived earlier than the main group and did some sightseeing before the main group arrived.) In the original schedule, the main group was supposed to arrive at Kandy this morning, to make offerings to monks in Kandy Tooth Relic Temple. However, the [View Full Entry]

By autumncs
June 5th 2009

Poson trip Day 3 - Gardens, elephants, temples, crooks Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Kandy

Kandy Lake in the morning

We woke up at 6:30am today and had a quick breakfast at the hotel cafe. At 7:30am, Bala (the guy who offered us a day-trip for 3800 rupees) turned up with his friend. Bala had to work later, so he would let his friend drive us to the various attractions. Before he went to work, he accompanied us to this panoramic viewpoint on the hill, where we had a bird's eye view of Kandy and the surrounding mountains. He also accompanied us to Kandy Central Market, where we bought some fruits, T-shirts, incense sticks and candles. (At the end of the [View Full Entry]

By autumncs
June 4th 2009

Poson trip Day 2 - From the coast to the mountains Asia » Sri Lanka » Western Province » Colombo

Heading towards Slave Island (where the Sri Subramania Kovil temple is located)

After breakfast, we wanted to take a stroll along Galle Face Green, so we walked towards the coast. After passing through a security check and walking past the World Trade Centre, we arrived at the coast, only to be turned away by a soldier. We were disappointed, because the victory parade had already ended on the previous day and the Galle Face Green should be reopened by then. But, the soldier refused to let us through, citing security concerns. Do my mum and I look like terrorists who will blow up something on the seaside promenade? (Even if we want to [View Full Entry]

One of the many Buddhist shrines throughout the country

The facade of Sri Subramania Kovil temple

Shrines inside the Sri Subramania Kovil temple

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