After my short visit to Mongolia in June 2012 en route to Singapore, I decided to stay a night in Beijing. I have been to Beijing many times before for business trip and regretted that I never took the time off to visit the city as a tourist. I am lucky to have a colleague who is able to help me arranging a transportation picking me up from the airport and sent me to the Commune by the Great Wall (www.communebythegreatwall.com/en). I had read about this uniquely designed hotel situated next to the Great Wall. Its website describes: it is a collection of a private collection of contemporary architecture designed by 12 Asian architects. Some of the unique designs were Bamboo Wall, Suitcase House and Cantilever House. Upon checked in, I got a wow feeling just ... read more

I had always wanted to see the Iban tribes in Borneo and decided to fly to Kota Kinibalu (KK), Borneo for a long weekend trip in February 2012. Unfortunately, I was not well prepared; other than my flight and hotel, I hadn’t made any other arrangement as I was on a business trip prior to my departure and the repetitive emails sent to a travel agent was not properly attended. I must have taken it for granted as when I travel in other South East Asia countries, it was quite easy to rent a car with a driver at the airport. To my surprise, I could not find any in KK! I then realised I was in Malaysia where labor is in shortage. Anyhow, I took cab going to Novotel, a newly opened hotel at the ... read more

Siem Reap was one of the places that was on my priority list because of Angkor Wat, one of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. During Labor Day break last year, I decided to purchase the ticket to Siem Reap for a long weekend. This time, I had a recommendation for a guide and a driver from a friend of mine and didn't need a visa to enter the country. Furthermore, there was a direct flight from Singapore (these were the two most important criteria for me when choosing a destination for short getaway). Upon arrival at the airport, I was greeted by my guide who took me to FCC (http://www.fcccambodia.com/angkor/), a stylish hotel within a walking distance from the night market. I spent the afternoon walking around the market but decided not to buy anything. After visiting ... read more

During Deepavali break in 2012, I and my husband decided to go to Halong Bay for a long weekend get away. Both of us have been in Vietnam many times prior to this trip but it was for business, and we hardly had a chance to explore the city or area. Initially, we wanted to go to Sapa, located in the Northwest Vietnam, famous for its culture and highland. Unfortunately, the train schedule didn't really match with ours, so we decided to go join Emeraude Cruise instead. I had a totally different experience coming to Hanoi as a tourist than being there for work. Being a tourist, I saw everything brand new with open mind, and I got to appreciate the Vietnamese lifestyle and people better. Even the lake that I hardly paid much attention before ... read more

I was glad I made the decision to go ahead with the trip to Mongolia. It has been one of those destinations that I must go. Obviously, it was because of my fascination with Chinggis Khan but also because of its beauty, nature and people. I had to take my two weeks compliant leave and had planned a week to spend with my family, which meant that I had one more week to use on my own. I applied the visa at the Mongolian Embassy in Singapore which was quite straight forward and had it done the next day. I had made my onland tour arrangement as well and had bought my flight with Singapore Airlines and a connecting flight from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar with China Airlines. I left Singapore in the evening and arrived Beijing ... read more