I'm Back!

Wow, I have deserted my blog for more than 3 months already! I better start updating it or otherwise, people will begin to think that this blog is dead for good.

These past few months had been an exciting one for me, especially from end of July 2013 to early September 2013 as I have been on the move most of the time. My first destination was Pulau Perhentian. It was a spontaneous, last minute trip, as my last day in the company came a week earlier than expected. I took a bus from Putra bus terminal to Kuala Besut and from the small town, took a speedboat ride to the island. I spent about 3 days there doing nothing but lazed around the white sandy beach, went out into the sea to snorkel, and read a book or two. It was a truly simple life.

The beautiful beach of Perhentian Kecil

After that, my next stop was Vientiane, Laos. I went with a fellow blogger, Diana, and we spent a good one week exploring the capital city and its charming countrysides up north like Vang Vieng, Phosavonh and Luang Prabang. With Laos done, I have finished with the Southeast Asian countries, excluding Timor Leste.

Patoxai or the Victory Monument in Vientiane

Plain of Jars, a mysterious occurance in Phosavonh

I then crossed border to Thai side from Vientiane to Udon Thani, a city in northern Thailand only to take a train ride to Bangkok to meet up with my family. Somehow, it has become an annual thing with my family to go for an overseas trip even though after the disastrous Singapore trip. Luckily, this time in Bangkok, it fared much better.

When the week was over, my family flew back to Malaysia while I took a bus ride to Phuket. I spent roughly 3 days in the island, exploring its quaint old town as well as hopping around its surrounding islands. Even though it was supposed to be low season, the crowd there is still large and most of them are Chinese tourists. I followed Phuket with a quick stop in Hat Yai to catch a train back to Malaysia.

Rows of umbrellas in Patong Beach

Next, I continued with a 2 week stay in Sabah. I concentrated mostly in Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu. While Sandakan is more of a small town, it is much easier to navigate around its attractions as there are public buses and transportation to bring you around while in Kota Kinabalu, the famous sites are almost 2 hours away from city centre.

These two shots of old buildings, can you tell which is Luang Prabang and Phuket Old Town?

Well, at least for these past one month plus, I have a wonderful time, seeing new things and meeting new friends. I can't wait for another long-term vacation like this again. More about it soon.

*TO BE CONTINUED*

Reviewing 2012

Happy 2013! 2012 had ended its run (that was fast!) and now we are in the brand new year, which means, all new travelling to be done. But, before we rush ahead, let's me count back to my extensive travelling that I had done since the commencement of this travel blog of mine (April 2011).

So, here goes:

Countries I've Visited (number of times):

Thailand (3), Cambodia, Macau (S.A.R. of China), Hong Kong (S.A.R. of China), Singapore (2), Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar

Cities/Islands I've Been To:

Hat Yai (Thailand); Phnom Penh & Siem Reap (Cambodia); Bangkok (Thailand); Macau; Hong Kong; Kuching (Malaysia); Singapore; Langkawi (Malaysia); Semarang (Indonesia); Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An & Hue (Vietnam); Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei); Labuan (Malaysia); Johor Bharu (Malaysia); Malacca (Malaysia); Yangon, Bagan & Inle Lake (Myanmar)

Cities/Islands that I've Visited Countless Times that it's Almost Like My Home:

Penang & Genting Highland

Numbers of Airports (excluding LCCT and KLIA): 7

Phnom Penh International Airport (Phnom Penh), Suvarnabhumi International Airport (Bangkok), Macau International Airport (Macau), Achmad Yani International Airport (Semarang), Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh City), Da Nang International Airport (Da Nang), Brunei International Airport (Brunei), Yangon International Airport (Yangon)

Numbers of Ferry Terminals: 6

Taipa Ferry Terminal - Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Pier, Kuala Kedah Ferry Terminal - Langkawi Jetty Point, Serasa Ferry Terminal - Labuan International Ferry Terminal

Numbers of UNESCO World Heritage Sites I've Been To: 7

Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca (Malaysia), Angkor (Cambodia), Historic Centre of Macau (Macau, SAR of China), Borobudur Temple Compounds (Indonesia), Hoi An Ancient Town (Vietnam), My Son Sanctuary (Vietnam) & Complex of Hue Monument (Vietnam)

Top 5 Most Memorable Trips:

5. Wicked in Singapore

My first live musical and it was amazing! Wicked is simply great. Worth every single pennies. Read about it here.

4. Hong Kong (Ocean Park, The Peak, etc)

Growing up with TVB series on regular staples, Hong Kong feels very familiar yet strange to me. It is like you can't believe you are actually in the island for real. Ocean Park, The Peak, Symposium of Light; all these Hong Kong attractions are must-do activities. All I can say is 4 days in Hong Kong is NOT enough. See for yourself what I have to say about Hong Kong.

3. Cycling to My Son Sanctuary from Hoi An

As I had blogged about recently, this adventure of mine is seriously mind blowing for me. 40 - 50 km in distance and I actually cycled to the place itself? In a foreign land with no knowledge of the language itself? Damn, I now know my limit is pretty non-existence.

2. Going to Cambodia with my University coursemates

4D/3N trip with late arrival and morning departure flights, and still manage to cover both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap? That's a feat that can't be defeated. No doubt it was all in a rush (we spent less than 4 hours in Angkor Wat!) but it was nothing but fun, fun, fun! A worthy farewell to our university years. Click here for my entries on Cambodia.

1. Bagan Archaeological Zone, Myanmar

Maybe it was my last trip of the year, hence, making it more memorable, but the vast landscape of Bagan is stunning. I spent 2D/2N there and still wasn't enough. Definitely not to be missed, sunrise and sunset in Bagan. You won't regret waking up super early for the view. More on Myanmar soon.

2012 has been a wonderful year for me with my travel resolution of visiting all ASEAN countries about to be realized comes this July 2013 (last on the list, Laos). For 2013, I'm expanding my Asia coverage to include either North Asia or South Asia into the itinerary. Plus, there will be one epic 2013 trip that I'm planning right now. Details are still fuzzy but one thing for sure, it will be LEGENDARY!

My 7 Super Shots

I was tagged by Diana here about this 7 Super Shots game initiated by Hostel Bookers. I'm not sure if there's a prize at the end of it (or whether it has already ended) but who cares! I just want to share the photos I had taken in my travels. I have yet to explore outside of Asia yet (I initiated the globetrotter program of my life mid last year) but still have a lot of fond memories exploring the continent (especially Southeast Asia which I can only afford at the moment).

So, here's my take on photos best described as followed:

Uno
Takes my breath away...

Hong Kong

On top of The Peak, overlooking the night views of Hong Kong, I realized this is it. After years of watching TVB series growing up, I finally had the opportunity of witnessing the marvellous creation that is Hong Kong. Skyscrapers graced the scenery and by the time it was 8pm, the spectacular light show took place. Simply stunning.

Dos
Makes me laugh or smile

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Cambodia was our graduation trip and being a graduation trip, there cannot be no jumping shots of us crazy kids. Thanks to the kind tourist who took this photo for us, we now have this leaping moment to look at, remembering all the wonderful moments and smiling at each one of them.

Tres
Makes me dream

Marina Sand Theatre, Singapore

It was my first musical by an international production and it was none other than the "best musical in the decade" Wicked. The scale of the production was massive and the performances of the actors in the musical were simply astounding. I found myself lip-syncing along (I was told by my friends that if I burst into songs, I will be smacked in the face) most of the songs especially the epic moment when "Defying Gravity" was belted out by Elphaba. Now that I had experienced my first musical, next stop, Broadway in New York!

Cuatro
Makes me think

A school outside Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

We often took our education system for granted. There is no doubt how flawed the system is but at least we are getting the education we deserved, equipping us with knowledge and strong command of languages. I was told that English is not part of the syllabus for the primary school and there are university graduates who cannot speak a proper sentence in English. It makes me think how privilege we are, being able to call ourselves multilingual.

Cinco
Makes my mouth water

Tom yam in Hat Yai, Thailand

I always have a carving for all things spicy. If you tell me there's some delicious spicy delights, you can count me in. Hence, there's no way tom yam koong would not make my mouth watering and of all the tom yams I had (to be fair, not that much in Thailand), the most memorable one has to be this particular tom yam in a restaurant in Hat Yai. It was my first overseas trip and after I did some digging, I found this restaurant and there is no going back now. It was the perfect mix of sweet, sour and spicy, only made available in Thailand.

Seis
Tells a story

Atop Penang Hill, Penang, Malaysia

This trip up Penang Hill was taken during the last few weeks of my university years. Three years had gone by with a blink of an eye and we found ourselves having to bide each other goodbyes soon. Before going back to our separate home towns, we decided to explore Penang for the last time. Penang will always hold a dear spot in my heart as it was where the three adventurous years took place. I made many lasting friends whose friendships I hold dearly.

Siete
I am most proud of (my National Geographic shot)

Borobudur, Indonesia

Equipped with a better camera (though ain't any better in capturing many beautiful moments passed by), this picture was one of my favourites on my recent trip to the UNESCO heritage site. While sunrise eclipsed us (misty and cloudy day it was), we still had a great time being enlightened in this Buddhist monument. This shot of the Buddha statue overlooking the mountains at the background was something I took by accident.

~

Now, I'm supposed to tag others to join in the fun but I'm skipping that part. If you think you would like to give it a go, just do it. I get to relive my memories of these wonderful trips I had over the past year and a half and am anticipating more to come. Where are you, July???

Bangkok - Chatuchak Weekend Market

When we finished exploring Wat Pho, we then went to take the river cruise back to Central Pier and took BTS to Mo Chit where we will be exploring the Chatuchak weekend market. The crowd at the place was scary for it was amazingly crowded.

Everyone is either going or leaving the weekend market

I understand why there were so many people enjoy going there. You can simply find anything you want at that market. From the usual items such as cloths and accessories...

...to household items...

flowers

decorations

...snacks of all kinds...

Common snacks

Exotic foods

...paintings...

...to even pets!

Adorable puppies for sales!

You can just find whatever in here. Where can you get these all-in-one-place market? We also had our dinner there at a small restaurant, ordering simple traditional dishes. Very delicious to say the least.

Look at the crowds!

Chicken

Salad with salted crab, I believe

Instead of rice, we had mihun

Pork

 This night was our last night in Bangkok for by tomorrow afternoon, we will be flying back Kuala Lumpur. After our breakfast, we went back to the shopping centres for another round of shopping before going to the airport. It is definitely a memorable trip.

Bangkok - Wat Pho

After our visit to the Grand Palace, we continued our tour with a visit to Wat Pho, home of the famous reclining Buddha statue. It was just walking distant away from the Grand Palace. When we reached the temple, dark clouds were residing, causing fear in us that possible heavy downpour might occur. Plus, the sight of construction on the temple put us into a dilemma whether or not to enter the temple. However, the idea of coming so far to Bangkok and not visit the famous landmark put us off and we just entered without any second thought.

Wat Pho from afar

One of the few entrances 

Inside the temple, besides the giant statue of sleeping Buddha, it is also a huge complex with many stupas and side temples. Being the main attraction of the building, we first visited the reclining Buddha statue and boy, is it huge! The statue sent off an aura of majestic and importance as we observed it with awe. Tourists from around the world snapped photos of the statue non stop and me being a tourist as well, did the same thing. 

Three shots of the reclining Buddha

There's a limit as to what my digital camera can do and it is near impossible to capture the golden statue in film. I did my best. After admiring the Buddha, we continued with our tour around the complex of the temple. Here are some shots inside the temple:

Bangkok - The Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha Statue

So, after cruising all the shopping centres at the districts which pretty much sum out what we did the first day, the next day, we went to the Grand Palace which is easily accessible by BTS from my place. First of all, we took BTS from Chong Nonsi station to Central Pier which is located at the Saphan Thaksin station. 

Then, once reached Saphan Thaksin station, we walked heading towards the exit that'll lead to Central Pier. At Central Pier, you will notice there are many people queueing up for the river cruise. At that pier, there are two types of boats/ferries. One is that you can have the whole boat by yourself or with your friends while the other is like a public speed boat. Of course, the former will cost you more than the public speed boat but you get to have the whole thing by yourself. More spacious but not budget conscious. We made a mistake which was we took the 'private' boat. Two persons sharing is not cheap. However, the experience itself worth it. Cool, river breeze brushing your hair, caressing your face, with the views of skyscrapers and antique buildings by the riverbank. 

'Private' boat

Some of the scenic views you'll get along Chao Phraya river

Me enjoying the ride and the cool breeze

Our stop is at the Chang Pier, the closest stop to our destination, the Grand Palace and its Temple of the Emerald Buddha. We walked across the road and headed to the main entrance of the Grand Palace. The entrance fee is 350 Bahts per person.

At Chang Pier

Some of the local delicacies you'll notice while at the pier

When we entered the palace, the first word on my mind was F***! It was damn majestic and vast! There are many buildings inside the compound, each has its own unique appeal. The designs of each building are very detailed and made of gold. Whether it is real gold or not, I'm not so sure about it. Lets the pictures do the talking.

Before we entered the compound

You may have notice that these buildings are mostly of old designs and are not allowed to enter. You can just look at and admire the intricate and detailed exteriors these buildings spotted. By the way, the King of Thailand still stay in the Grand Palace though I'm not sure whether he was in during our visit. His palace? Here's the picture.

A very modern building who follows the planning of the old palace

Another highlight of the palace have to be the Wat Phra Kaew, also known as the Temple of Emerald Buddha. As the name suggests, the Buddha statue is made of emerald and was enrobed in a gold gown that change according to the season. At the time of visit, it was summer, so the robe wore by the Buddha statue was breezy. No photography is allowed inside the temple but if you want to snap a photo of it, you can do it outside of the praying hall.

The Buddha is in the middle but the poor quality...

More pictures to go!