Reuben Ong

Roobs

Reuben Ong

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

A student of History, I believe that travelling is essential to being able to better comprehend the world that was lived in and the one which we currently inhabit. I'm hoping to be able to explore many more places, to observe the various cultures in them. By doing so, we come to appreciate the beauty of this world and open our eyes to the mystery that is Life.



Europe » Italy » Campania » Naples January 12th 2013

Pizzas, Passion and Edinson Cavani My Lonely Planet: Italy describes Naples as city in a state of anarchy and stories from friends who have visited the city had an unnerving effect on Melvin and me. A close friend of mine told me that his less-than-pleasant encounters in Naples marred his Italian experience. Hawkers constantly pestering you with their wares, people rushing to collect your change from ticket machines before you could receive your tickets, and thieves attempting to snatch your mobile phone while you were having a conversation – these helped to create a degree of queasiness in me as I prepared for the trip. It’s strange but I have always been eager to visit the place despite its less-than-‘perfect’ reputation from a visitor’s perspective. Being a fan of Neapolitan traditional songs like the famous ‘O ... read more
View from the Castel Sant'Elmo
IMG_3350
Stadio San Paolo

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Edirne September 28th 2012

Escape to Edirne ‘And why do you go to Edirne?’ Yavuz, our Istanbul hostel receptionist, asked us in bewilderment. ‘There is nothing in Edirne. There is one mosque and nothing else.’ He recommended that we travel to Cappadocia instead, enthusiastically promoting the area’s beauty and the wealth of sight-seeing activity it offered. Brendan and I had agreed to take a short trip out of Istanbul, and other places like Gallipoli and Ephesus were considered. Edirne, however, was a relatively convenient (and short) trip from the heartland of Turkish tourism and the fact that it was the Ottoman capital prior to the conquest of Constantinople made a visit to it – to me, at least – quite appealing. Most, if not all, other tourists we met during our time in Istanbul were unaware of Edirne’s ... read more
Inside the Old Mosque
Selimiye Mosque
Photo 5

Asia » Laos » East » Phonsavan February 2nd 2010

Our stay in Phonsavan was going to be brief, and we had to carefully decide which sites to visit so as to make the most of our trip. After arriving at about 9 in the evening after an unfortunate minivan breakdown, we put up at Nice Guesthouse. Yes, it's true that our place of lodging was called Nice Guesthouse and I'm pleased to say that the place, for it's low price of 80,000kip a night, does live up to its name. The aforementioned breakdown presented us with the opportunity to be acquainted with Kati, a most cordial Swiss lady, who was also on her way to Phonsavan in our minivan with her husband Erwin. While waiting for the vehicle to be repaired, Erwin decided to give Phonsavan a miss and head straight to Vientiane with a ... read more
Games by the street
Explosives from the Indochinese War
Jars at Site 2

Asia » Thailand » Western Thailand » Kanchanaburi October 13th 2009

The day which we had been eagerly anticipating had finally come and it was tough to hide the gleeful smile on my face as I looked forward to our stay in Thailand. The trip was supposed to provide some respite after months in NS and also marked the beginning of the end of our National Service stint. With me, Jordan, Luke and Mark made up the Gang of Four. We had decided to visit Kanchanaburi and the nations capital, Bangkok. Possessing a keen interest in history, we chose Kanchanaburi due to the areas significance in World War Two when thousands of Allied prisoners-of-war were transported from prisons in South-East Asia to build what later became known as the "Death Railway". The Bridge over the River Kwai, subject of one of Hollywoods most endearing movies, is also ... read more
The Elephant Man
The Death Railway
Sai Yok Moi Waterfall




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