This was a pretty long overdue entry of my time in Seoul. Call it writer's block, perhaps. But, wait, could it be there was just too much to record.... Travelling brings a lot of new and different experiences. I must say I had a lot a "first time" in Seoul. 1st time seeing sakura BLOOMS. Simply lovely. After a tiring overnight flight, my day brightened with views of sakura. It was pretty unexpected coz it was already end of Apr. So blessed to be in time for this. On top of sakura, the tulips festival at Everland was pretty stunning too. Spring was in the air! 1st time staying at Hanok. To be specific, it was Seoul Guesthouse which was situated at Anguk. It really felt like we were living in someone's house. Our room was ... read more

Where was the orderliness? Where was the friendliness in ppl? Where were the good food? Orderliness not found. The traffic in the city was choatic. There were bikes, cars, cyclos, pesdestrians trying to manoeuver their way on the road all at the same time. And bikes and cars honked their way ard with no obvious outcome. Pedesterians had to learn to be alert and cross the road slowly and don't fluster. The driver, of one of my cab rides, was a very stubborn and impatient driver who thought he would always get his way (I suppose he really did). He honked the drivers in front of him incessantly from afar and tailgated them extremely closely to get them to give way to him. On my first experience on cyclo, I thought I would be freak-out by ... read more

Halong Bay - the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not to be missed. How to enjoy it? Go on an overnight cruise. If time permits, stay a couple for days to visit the many isles / national park. 3hrs of bus ride from Hanoi and a little confusion at the busy ferry terminal, we boarded the cruise ship for 2D/1N to tour the famous Halong Bay leisurely. During this period, Halong Bay was like a giant piece of chinese ink-painting of sea & mountains. The thousands of limestone "islands" were shrouded in fog and dim sunlight. Looking closer, the water was tranquil emerald... adding peacefulness to the place. The leisure cruise ride perfected the enjoyment on the upper open-top deck. Even though it was really cold to stay on the uppper deck, I persisted... din want to ... read more

The southern part of Taiwan seemed like a less travelled part of TW for tourists. The film Cape No. 7 sure had drawn spotlight to it. Ha, but we didn't visit the filming sites. The key mode of transport from Hualien to Kenting was via train which would bring us to Fangliao station where we would catch a bus to Kenting. Did sound a little complicated. It took a little effort in securing suitable train tickets too. Tks to the TW tourism counters in Taipei for suggesting alternative train routes instead of sticking to direct train from Hualien to Fangliao. The train that we rode on travelled along the east coast of TW. Hence, those seated on the left side of the carriage would get pretty nice views of the sea. Along the way, we passed ... read more

Though I had been to Taipei twice, Yang Ming Shan (YMS) somehow just didn't get into my past itineraries. Without suggestion fr WL, perhaps I wld have missed this place once again. Prior to going to YMS, I had thought it was something like S'pore Botanic Garden & MacRitchie Reservoir - with lovely landscaped flowers and nature trekking trails. YMS was definitely huge and hilly and wasn't easy to get around, especially so during peak season like flower season, weekends & public holidays. Those without personal vehicle would have to rely on buses to tour the YMS National Park. The buses were usually minivans that couldn't take too many passengers. And, the frequency/schedule was unknown. During crowded times, being able to board the minivan was a blessing. This period was the season of calla lilies. Hence, ... read more