Krung Thep - City of Angels

To all Singaporeans: Bangkok's great for a weekend shopping spree, i know, but there's more to it then that! Check out the amazing sights as well; even with one full day devoted to sight-seeing, we still missed out quite a fair bit like the Royal Barge Museum, Wat Pho, Baan Jim Thompson etc. - an excuse for us to be back again to visit the sights, and of course, to do more shopping...

View of Wat Arun from Chao Phraya Tourist boat

Intricate details adorning Wat Phra Keow

City of angels- Bankok skyline at dusk as seen from Vertigo bar

It's a Beautiful World

On a Beautiful day ...

... Somewhere in this Beautiful World ...

... ... We shared a Beautiful moment together...

Summertime in Hokkaido

Finally, a trip to Hokkaido in summer, totally different from the freezing, but nevertheless enchanting winter i spent in Akanko last year. What's more, we covered most of the major spots on the island, making us probably more well-travelled in the province then most of the Japanese themselves. It was'nt all that perfect though, given that some days were either rainy or cloudy coz of the class 4 typhoon approaching Japan, but all in all, it was still great, and certainly most special (I'll reveal more in a later post) to me. In the meantime, please enjoy the pics.

The spectacular night view makes any visit to Hakodate worthwhile

Canals are a dime a dozen in many places, but the one in Otaru is just plain charming

One day i'm going back for the Sapporo Snow festival

A view of Cape Gorota with Mt Rishiri in the background, one of the rewards of taking the splendid hikes in Rebun Island

With Asahidake looking in the background, the Alpine flowers flaunt their beauty

Asahidake with its reflection in one of the snow-melt pools

A sight to behold -The entire Daisetsuzan carpeted with alpine flowers

Neat rows of flowers in the ever-popular Farm Tomita, Furano

Romantic Sundown at Biei

Iconic trees and patchwork fields - a pastoral paradise

Rugged yet beautiful coastline of the Okhotsk Sea, Utoro

Outdoor bath in our amazing hotel overlooking the sea

Eluding me yet again, the mysterious Lake Mashu

Historic Malacca

Woah, it's been a long time since i updated my travel blog, but well, it's been a long time since i've travelled for leisure anyway. Anyway, here goes: Historic Malacca/Melaka - Just 4 hours away from Singapore by bus, makes quite an enjoyable overnight trip. Some fairly interesting historic sights, a really cool Pasar Malam (that's a night market for people who don't know) that's also one of the most authentic i've seen in Asia in years, and best of all, lots of really good yet cheap food! (i think we ate 6 meals in a day there) Wanton noodles, chicken rice balls, laksa... but most importantly, try the Baba Chendol at the museum cafe and the lok lok/satay celup at capitol satay. (long queue for this one though... go early) Check out the pics:

Great Selection of Nonya deserts and snacks - I love gula melaka!

The Iconic A'Famosa (Porta de Santiago)

One of many tourist trishaws - gimicky but nevetheless pretty

Pearl of the Orient, & Macau

Never thought i'd go for a shopping trip, but i did anyway. Fortunately, even though i've always preferred places of nature over a sprawling metropolis, Hong Kong is truly an impressive city, and just the views alone contribute much to make it a worthwhile trip. The landscape planning of Hong Kong island is really excellent, and the night scenery nothing short of spectacular. Our day trip to Macau was no less fruitful as well. With all the new glitzy and glamorous buildings built to support the casino industry, i'm beginning to see why it has overtaken Las Vegas as the city which generates the most casino revenue.

Hong Kong, the pearl of the Orient

The Harbour seen from Victoria Peak

Bright neon signboards hang above the busy streets

Little Portugal in China- The Largo de Senado

Admiring a 'picture' of the ruins of St Paul

The upcoming Babylon casino

Macau Fisherman's Wharf & the immense Macau-Taipa Bridge

Underwater Paradise

Pulau Sipadan- a place that is on every diver's 'must go' list. While october is not the best time to go in terms of visibilty, i was not the least bit disappointed by the spectacular underwater vistas off the tiny limestone island. The vibrant colours of the amazingly rich marine life surpassed almost all of the images that i've conjured of a true underwater kingdom. Swarming whirlwinds of jacks and baracuddas, schools of huge bumphead parrtofish, frequent sightings of sharks and turtles, a myriad of colourful corals and gigantic seafans, i could go on forever. Moreover, it was turtle mating season! Green turtles at every corner, some swimming around looking for a willing partner, some courting, some catching a little rest before their next 'vigorous' session- I even saw a pair actually doing it! Forget the fast and the furious, young things! The adage 'slow and steady wins the race' sums it up here. In fact, i hear it takes up to 24hrs on average. Oh how i envy them...

The Legendary Pulau Sipadan

Can't stop the chorus of 'Under the Sea' playing in my head

World of vibrant colours

one of the barras gasping in astonishment as it saw me

School of angelfish swimmin' by

Whirlwind of Jacks - Cool!

Green turtle in 'mid-flight'- how graceful...

Courting turtles, so cute- how can anyone like turtle soup!?

Sharks' fins- difficult choice...argh, stop messin' my head!

By the way, i found Nemo *smile*

Old World Splendor

After surviving a stampede in Budapest, an overnight train ride across the Czech border and even snow in the Tatras while wearing a T-shirt and single pullover, Behold!- Eugene I, Prince of Geylang, Heir to the House of Leaw, is finally back to post pics on our 18 day Eastern/Central Europe trip! Travelling from Hungary to Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland before our final destination in Lithuania, this wonderful trip really gave us a good glimpse of the opulance and grandeur of an age where aristocrats and religious leaders ruled empires and held total dominance over all society. With the exception of a few nature stops along the Danube river, the Vtalva and the Polish Tatras, and a good lesson on the evils of humanity at Auschwitz, i think we've easily made a couple of years' worth of visiting splendid castles, palaces, cathedrals and abbeys. There was just so much history coursing through my veins that i could'nt help but hear some classical pieces (Bach?) in my head each time i walk through all the old town streets. Think i need a break from Europe... seen too many churches and too many white people... wanna go see something different like the Pyramids in Giza, or Istanbul, or Angkor Wat, or flower fields in Furano, or a hundred other different places...

Fisherman's Bastion at Buda, Budapest

Hungarian Parliament at Pest, 2nd largest in Europe after London

Close-up shot of the Hungarian Parliament

The immense Hofburg by night, Vienna

Stift Melk, Grandest interior of any religious building i've seen

Baroque Theatre in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

I've got to step in to give a brief explanation at this point, coz this theatre really got me awestruck. Dating from as far back as the 2nd half of the 17th, this is the most well-preserved baroque theatre in the world, with original costumes, props and equipment still intact. Yet, the most amazing thing is the special effects that this theatre is able to deliver given the technology that was available. For one, optical illusion on the stage setup was used to make its depth look very much more than it really is, and to make it even more convincing, kid performers wearing miniature versions of actual costumes act in the background while the real adult performers stay in the foreground. Check out this site for more special effects used in the theatre:- Cesky Krumlov & its unique theatre

Cesky Krumlov with the Vtalva running through- Truly a fairytale town

Romantic Charle's Bridge by night, enchanting no matter how many times u see it

Cloth hall at Rynek Glowny, Krakow

One of the 5 Tarns in the Polish Tatras along the Dolina Piecu Stawow trail

Stalin's Communist Icon- Palace of Culture & Science, Warsaw

Beautiful Lakehouse near Kaunas, Lithuania

The eerie hill of crosses at Siauliai