Sunday, 22nd September 2013 Makassar is probably home to one of the world's most quiet Chinatown I've ever seen! The highlight of our day was a visit to Fort Rotterdam in the morning. This was about 10 minutes walk from our accommodation. Fort Rotterdam started life in the 1670s as the centre of Dutch power in Sulawesi. During the Japanese occupation, it assumed its role as a Prisoners-of-War (POW) camp. Accessing the Fort was relatively straight forward. We had to "report" at the guard house, signed our names on the guestbook and made a modest donation before entering into the premises. By 9am, the sun was already very high up in the sky and the heat was comparable to a typical afternoon back home. The well-maintained buildings within the fort were painted in shades of yellow ... read more

Saturday, 17th August 2013 I was eleven when I first visited Kukup as a kid way back in December 1990. This was also my first overseas trip proper even though I certainly did not catch the travel bug until much later in my twenties. My only recollection of the maiden trip was our delicious seafood lunch on top of a kelong, one of the many floating houses by the sea. Kukup, a peaceful fishing village located along the western end of Johor lies about 100km from Singapore. It was certainly great to be back at the same spot after a good 23 years! Nine of us assembled on the morning of 17th August 2013 at Choa Chu Kang Station for our weekend getaway. I was looking forward to it given the novelty of staying in a ... read more

Saturday, 10th August 2013 Travel is more than just a holiday. It's a journey of experience where you leave your comfort zone and prejudices. - Vinny Kuah (My Journeys of Discovery) I was up before 540am this morning in order to catch the first glimpse of sunlight over Haitang Bay. I was happy to sacrifice that few moments of sleep in exchange for the exceptional view by the beach. There were a couple of other early birds as well. Some were armed with their DSLRs. Others just wanted to have a good time as we welcomed the very first rays of light over the horizon. The morning breeze over the peaceful Haitang Bay had a calming effect on the body and soul. Breakfast was still a wonderful encounter this morning even though we noticed that the ... read more

Thursday, 8th August 2013 Tiger Airways flight TR 2934 brought us straight to the city of Haikou in Hainan Province this morning. This was our seventh overseas trip together for our party of five. Our travel arrangements were made as early as January in anticipation of the super long weekend crunch. The journey began at Changi International Airport for the three hours flight to Haikou Meilan Airport. This was followed by a two-hour rail journey to Sanya Station where our resort was another 40 minutes drive from the train station. All in all, we probably spent half a day commuting to url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g297427-d2026664-r171878380-Renaissance_Sanya_Resort_Spa-Sanya_Hainan.htmlRenaissance Sanya even though I certainly enjoyed the comfortable train journey. Along the way, we were greeted by the beautiful countryside with its lush veg... read more

Saturday, 13th July 2013 We have a magnificent natural harbour, one of the finest in the world. A ride in a cable car will provide the visitor with a magnificent panorama of the harbour. It will, I hope, at the same time make Singaporeans more conscious and more proud of their city, whose economic life blood flow through this great port." Dr Goh Keng Swee (15th February 1974) I woke up on Saturday morning thankful that I didn't have to go back to the office. Before long, I had put on my walking shoes and headed straight to the Cable Car Museum in Sentosa to continue with my museum-quests in Singapore. I chanced upon this museum on someone's blog the other day. He was telling that the admission was free even though the brochures stated that ... read more