东北三省 - 寒冷的世界

Only two words can be used to describe our Christmas/New year trip - Unbearably cold! Yes we wanted to have a white christmas, but this was really more than what we bargained for. -31 degC at its coldest, nothing could prepare us for this. Our bodies were wrapped up like giant bar changs, (rice dumplings) but our feet and hands just couldn't be insulated well enough. Imagine that water vapor could condense on our eyelashes and then freeze into tiny clumps of ice. This was truly the coldest I ever felt though theoretically I experienced similar temperatures at Hokkaido in the winter of 06. They say its because of the Siberian wind that blows from Russia. Also locals say this was the coldest winter they had for a long time, possibly due to climate change. Anyway, here are some of the photos, least I have ever taken on any trip coz my gloves were too thick to control the camera properly and my bare hand couldn't stand more than a couple of seconds out in the cold. Enjoy them, coz I probably will never go some place this cold ever again.

张学良将军's mansion

One of the buildings at 沈阳故宫


Probably China's most Majestic Beast - the Siberian Tiger


One of many Immense Ice sculptures at Sun Island


Same one with a different view

The one reason we put ourselves to the torture - 哈尔滨冰雪大世界

Got to see it to believe it (well we've done it so that's it, enuf)

My favorite piece, The Himeji Castle ice structure

Decadent European Tour

This has got to be my most luxurious trip ever! - Flying on the A380 with Singapore Airlines both ways, opulent 5-star hotels (even got a room at the Westin with a view of the Eiffel tower), beautiful B&Bs, (including feeling like royalty staying one night at the Chateau des Ormeaux), amazing restaurants, (dined for the first time in a 3 Michelin star restaurant at L'Astrance) private trip in a BMW and also at some point in time cruising around in a 2L volkswagen Jetta. I never thought I would ever spend the money to indulge in such luxuries. Well, I still wouldn't, but with all the accumulated air mileage, hotel loyalty points, and support from our couchsurfer/hospitality club friends, (Thanks Piere & Christian!) it was possible to craft a truly decadent itinerary for my wife and me with a modest budget of $3800 each.

And what a beautiful trip it was! I have always loved France in the first place, having already been there 3 times before, but with my darling wife around, I love it even more - it's a place for Luurrveee... My first time in Belgium, too, was truly memorable, especially when it came to the divine chocolates. How i crave for another bite of Pierre Marcolini's... I'm drooling already. The UK? I used to think that England was a dark and dreary country, cloudy and raining most of the time. Now, after having stayed there for 5 days, I still think the same... BUT ... on the occasional day (2 out of 5) when the sky was clear and blue, the scenery was simply glorious. The pastoral scenery that I saw has to rank as one of the top that I've seen in my entire life. Even though I still love France more, I must say that the English countryside is considerably prettier - cute little lambs grazing on wide open meadows, beautiful little villages within a setting of trees and a little stream or river, quaint little cottages like the ones in Children's picturebooks - classic.

In any case, here are the photos. I've arranged them roughly according to the sequence which we took them, though i did not select pirctures from every place we went to.

France: Paris, St Malo, Dinan, Mont St Michel, Loire Valley

Belgium: Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Namur, Dinant, Leuven. Liege

UK: London, Salisbury, Bath, Cotswolds, Oxford

Monsieur Gargoyle looking over Paris from Notre Dame Tower

The Classic Black and White photo of the Eiffel Tower

Timber houses in Dinan, Brittany

Probably my last time at the Mont St Michel

Spectacular gardens at Chateau De Villandry


Candes-st-Martin, "one of the prettiest villages in France"


Chateau D'Azay le Rideau- charming from the outside with the surrounding waters


Magnificent Castle town - Amboise


Prince and Princess for a day at Chateaux des Ormeaux

Blois - Yet another stately castle town


Biggest and Grandest of all the Loire Valley castles - Chateau de Chambord


Classic Fairytale town - Bruges, the 'Venice of the North'


The 'Lake of Love' in Minnewater park, Bruges


Ghent - 3rd most authentic travel destination in the world according to NatGeo Traveller

Imposing architecture with intricate details looming over the Grand Place in Brussels


With its Citadel high atop a cliff, the Walloon City of Dinant

Magnificent Town hall in the University town of Leuven

The World-Famous Roman baths at Bath

Quaint Thatched-roof Cottage in Chipping Campden

Another beautiful cottage in the Cotswolds

Another Beautiful scene in the Cotswolds - the lambs must be tasty

The old water mill in the lower Slaughters

The river Windrush running through Boughton-on-the-water

Some nice random house in Bibury

Just can't leave Big Ben out of any Travel Blog that features London, right?

Temples of Angkor

3 and a half days in Siem Reap makes for a really nice long weekend. I've seen many kinds of ancient architecture and ruins, but still, the temples of Angkor are nothing short of spectacular. Moreover, while the architectural styles bear certain similiarities, they are all uniquely different in some ways - the smiling faces at the Bayon in Angkor Thom, the iconic towers of Angkor Wat, the forest-engulfed 'Tomb Raider' temples of Ta Phrom, the mountain temple of Phnom Bakheng, the splendid and intricately carved motifs in Bantay Srei, and the amazing waterfalls and river-bed carvings at Kabal Spean - Everyone will find their favourite! We(My wife & I, and for the first time, my brother Scott and her girlfriend) also went to Tonle Sap and the village of Kampong Khleang, but seriously, the temples are the highlight!

The Iconic Temple - Angkor Wat at Sunrise

Beautiful anytime - Angkor Wat at Sunset

Happy as always - Khmer King Jayavarman VII

This one's for Angelina - Ta Phrom

Close up of the centuries-old overgrowth

Countryside scenery - Tropical Foliage and water pools

江南五日游

Once again, we find ourselves in China. Basing ourselves in Shanghai and making day trips to Hangzhou, Suzhou and a visit to nearby watertown Zhujiajiao, it was 5 glorious days of food binging. We did manage to visit some truly pretty sights, but seriously, with all that good food and at much cheaper prices than in Singapore, sometimes I wonder if we're there for sightseeing or just for eating. Need to watch the cholestrol level ...

夜上海，夜上海，你是一个不夜城。。。

远近文明的上海外滩夜景

Unbeatable views from Vue at Hyatt on the Bund


上有天堂，下有苏杭 - 美丽的杭州西湖


中国四大名园之一， 苏州拙政园


江南水乡朱家角

The most Beautiful Girl in my Life

Grand Californian Honeymoon (+Vegas & Grand Canyon)

Possible the best trip in my life so far, it's our Grand Californian Voyage. (+Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon) 20 days of pure bliss across San francisco, Point Reyes, Napa, Tahoe, Yosemite, Sequoia, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Death Valley, Vegas, Grand Canyon, L.A., Disney Theme parks, Solvang, San Simeon, Big Sur, Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula. From shopping at the outlets (watch her go) to roughing it out in nature (in our trusty rental car mostly), fine dining to thrill rides, livin it large at 5 star premium view resorts to experiencing cheap motels... I think we did it all. Biggest splurge in my life, but oh well - it's our honeymoon, so it's worth it. Too many photos to choose from, the least i could show are these 23. Ok, time to go work my butt off to pay the credit card bills... ...

View of the San Francisco City Skyline from our Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf

Point Reyes Lighthouse - too much fog for an afternoon


Domaine Chandon, Fall Foliage and Golden leaves - NICE!


First Class views at Emerald Bay in South Lake Tahoe

View of Half Dome from Sentinel Bridge

Amazing scenery at Yosemite - Gotta see it yourself, photos mean nothing

Same goes for Hume lake, Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park

A Sequoia Tree - BIG BIG BIG

Hard earned view after trek near Morro Rock

Santa Barbara County Courthouse, Imagine being tried in all that History

Devil's Golf Course - Surreal Landscape in Death Valley

It's Paris, NO, it's ViVaaa Las Vegas!

Venice, NO, ViVaaa Las Vegas!

Mother of all Canyons, the lazy way to name it is to just use 'Grand'

Dusk at Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills

Going space-age at Disney concert Hall, L.A.

Still the Happiest Place on Earth - Disneyland!

The Magic never ends - "It's a small World after all"

Water World show set, Universal Studios Hollywood

Touristy Solvang - "More Danish than Denmark"

Elephant Seals lazing around at Piedra Blancas

Spectacular coastline scenery at Big Sur

Point Lobos - 'The Greatest meeting of Land and Water in the World'

Visit Indonesia 2008: Dream Island Bali

Dream Island Bali- every bit as lovely as the travel literature says. Touristy, yes, but nevertheless beautiful and the locals here are some of the most friendly and accomodating around - from farmers to merchants to service staff, most are always smiling and eager to show their lengedary Balinese hospitality. I'll be back, soon i hope.

Sunset over Uluwatu- Watch out for those monkeys!

My favourite Balinese temple - Uluwatu

Photographer's favourite: Terraced padi fields at Tegalalang

Susut, a real Balinese village - Padi field green & blue Sky blue

Tanah Lot- The Legendary break-up temple

Restaurant with a view- "that's where our rice comes from!"

Taman Ayun: One of many evocative temples in Bali

Local Guide San: "Kuta is not Bali!"