Day 3: Sunday, 18th October 2009 After saying goodbye to the friendly hotel folks at Hanoi, we continued our voyage to Halong Bay, about 3.5 hours drive from the capital. For USD95 per person, we were given a night's stay on the mid-range Halong Phoenix Cruiser including 4 meals on board. Fair enough, even though we wished that there could at least be 2 bottles of drinking water available in each cabin. Ironically, drinking water was a precious commodity in Halong Bay, something we oftened took for granted back home. A 500ml bottle would drown USD1 from our pockets. The cabin and bathroom were relatively spacious according to my 3 Star Cruise experts on board. I've never sailed on a cruise but thought that our Phoenix was relatively exclusive given that there were no more than ... read more

Day 1, Friday 16th October 2009 Our "Halong Hanoi Elegance" discovery kicked off this morning when we boarded the Singapore Airlines flight to Hanoi, about three and a half hours from Singapore. Located at the heart of the Red River Delta, Hanoi is the capital city of socialist Vietnam, home to about 3.7 million of the nation's 86 million people. Touching down at the Noi Bai International Airport at 12.30pm, we quickly picked up our luggage where the hotel representative was already expecting us at the arrival hall. The 45 minutes ride from the airport to the city was comfortable. It was certainly worth paying the extra money for the airport pick-up service to avoid the notorious taxi mafias at Noi Bai Airport. Checking in at the Hanoi Elegance Boutique Hotel was a pleasant experience. The ... read more

While exploring the Southern Ridges on National Day, we chanced upon this wonderful Museum. Housed in a restored colonial house and nestled among the hills of Pasir Panjang, the average visitor would have easily overlooked its mere existence. “Reflections at Bukit Chandu” was established on 15th February 2002 to commemorate the heroic efforts of the Malay Regimen who stood by the then Opium Hill (Bukit Chandu). This was the fiercest battle ever fought on this island as a final defence to prevent the Japanese from advancing into the city. Sure, I wasn’t at the City Hall today and revel in the NDP fireworks nor reciting the national pledge @ 8.22pm. But certainly, visiting the Museum and learning a bit about the history of Bukit Chandu provided a staunch reminder of the forgotten past, oftened overlooked by ... read more

Afterall, we are not going anymore! The ill-fated Bali trip was supposed to take place tomorrow, 23rd July 2009 but it was never realized due to a sudden turn of events both in Indonesia and at home. While Jakarta hotels were in the limelight for the bombings, the same spotlight was shone on 3 of us by outsiders who weren’t involved in the trip to begin with. Afterall, we tried our best to reassure ourselves and others that things would be alright. Afterall, our hotel was no Ritz Carlton nor JW Mariott. Afterall, we are not staying at the Kuta Beach where it witnessed the worst of the 2002 bombings. Afterall, I have decided to revise our itinerary for the safety of everybody. Afterall, we decided to steer clear of Kuta Beach. Afterall, we are not ... read more

History unfolds itself at the Changi Chapel and Museum on Saturday morning. Delicated to the living memories of the many who suffered during the Second World War, this small scaled museum contained artefacts and haunting testimonies of the Japanese Occupation. 70 minutes from home and after 3 buses and 2 transfers brought me to the Museum grounds on the morning of 4th July 2009. Alighting from the same service 29 from Tampines Bus Interchange were a couple of caucasians with a common agenda. Sharing the same compound with the Changi Prison, the white-washed building was relatively barren and unimpressive from the outside. It also housed a replica of the Chapel that was commonly found in the POWs camps of Changi during the occupation. The Chapel provided a place where the prisoners could temporary seek solace from ... read more