So we were off to Uzbekistan. Yay!! But why, you ask (or where as others have asked) Uzbekistan? Actually, to be honest, we're not sure. Since we live in Beijing, we figured we should try the countries that were nearby and that were not typically 'on-the-way' to anywhere. So Uzbekistan it was. First up though was actually getting to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. We don't normally write about airport escapades, but this time, we had such an 'enjoyable' time that we thought we would share it with everybody. We arrived promptly at 10pm at Urumqi airport (city in the northwest [View Full Entry]

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After spending 3 days in intense conference activities (and one fun night at the conference dinner where 50 year old academics started doing playing limbo), it was time to hit the tourist trail again. Till now, those conference days had been essentially work punctuated with good eating and the occasional lazing on the resort beach. As far as resorts go, I have to say the Marriot resort was rather disappointing - nicely decorated, but not much to do. I guess its geared more at the 'laze about and do nothing all day', rather than the more active, 'let’s see some fun' [View Full Entry]

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Aruba - been here one day already and all I've seen is flab, flubber and overhang. Goodness, these American tourists need to diet. Today, a friend and I decided to venture out of the comfort of the resort to experience the offroad Aruba. Our plan was to drive alone the rugged north and east coasts of Aruba - sparsely populated and often compared to the moon landscape. The island is infact akin to a parched desert - dry sandy expanses where cactii and tumbleweed abound. Admidst this all, you often catch a glimpse of an isolated colorfully decorated dwelling - yellows [View Full Entry]

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Aruba - known to me solely from its brief mention in the Beach Boys song, Kokomo. Its one of the many gorgeous islands in the carribean thats been converted into a tourist haven, and thus is the constant abode of overweight americans with oversized wallets looking to further increase their girth by lazing about and eating all day. I was in Aruba for a conference - funny how serious conferences are held in holiday destinations all too often! The conference was in the swanky Marriot resort, isolated towards the nothern tip of the small island. There isn't much to do in [View Full Entry]

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After 2 glorious days coasting the waters of Halong Bay, we were now off to do some serious land cruising - seated on the back of a motorcycle, whizzing through the country side. Our starting point was to be Dalat, home of the Easy Riders. The Easy Riders are a Dalat home-grown concept. Essentially, english speaking guides with motorbikes, who will, for a fee, strap onto the back of their bike and drive you across Vietnam, up mountains, down valleys, into tiny villages, and of course to the compulsory 'uncle or cousin's' house. It was touted as one of those 'must [View Full Entry]

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Today was to be a momentous day - the very first day for a Thambiratnam to ever embark on an 'adventure' holiday - well, as adventurous as a 2 day kayak trek on flat water can be considered. Yes, we were off to Halong Bay, Vietnam's most famous natural attraction, to explore underwater caves, hidden lagoons and secluded beaches, all while surrounded by spectacular water-submerged karst splendors. Karst, for those uneducated individual out there, since everybody knows what karst is, is a fancy name for big gray moutains of limestone that have lots have caverns, streams and sinkholes ru [View Full Entry]

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Since plane tickets from Beijing to Australia aren't cheap, we decided to make the best of our family visit back to Australia by stopping over in Vietnam. Why Vietnam, you ask? Well, as you know, we're greedy people, and Vietnamese food is just so yummy!! Oh, and of course, we wanted to see the beautiful cultural stuff and scenery, and etc ... yeah, but mainly the food. Alas, we were short on leave for the year, which meant, a super fast, time maximising, sleep minimising, 6 day trip. First stop was Hanoi, capital of Vietnam. The airport was quite a way [View Full Entry]

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Well, we are now official Aliens of Beijing having received our 'Aliens Residence Permit' and 'Aliens Employment Permit' from the Chinese Government a few days ago. Yep, they really make you feel welcome and loved here, labelling you as Aliens. Its been just over 2 weeks, and we can confidently say that we think we really are going to like it here in Beijing. It's full of all the comforts you'd expect in a western country, except that things are one fifth of the price. Despite the language barrier, its actually not too difficult getting around - thanks to the aid [View Full Entry]

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Laksa, Nasi Goreng, Chow Mein, Ice Kachang...just a few things we managed to consume in the first 30 minutes after landing in Singapore. Followed by nasi padang, curry puffs, and fried fishballs on sticks in the next 15. And then for dessert .... Most of you will know that we left Brisbane for our Singapore stopover (on route to Beijing) with a single mission in mind - to eat our way through the city! I can proudly say that we did accomplish this mission - to the fullest. At last count, we calculated that we had consumed a glorious 25 different [View Full Entry]

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Its supposedly one of those unique cities in the world, up there with New York and Paris. Why? Cos its so darned busy and crowded. But yes, it does have something special - watches - lots of cheap watches!! The day started out fantastically with a FREE BUSINESS CLASS flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong. How did we get this free, and why was it business class. Well, let me teach you a lesson in not letting anything go to waste. You see, in 2003 when Melenie and I flew to London, we went on Japan Airlines. And we had the [View Full Entry]

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