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Showing posts from 2010

Missed (and almost missed) flights

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In the spirit of my missed flight on Christmas eve , I started thinking about all the other times that I had missed, or almost missed my flights... Vientiane, Laos on August 2010 - Missed the connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore when the flight from Vientiane to Kuala Lumpur was delayed for more than two hours. Ended up staying overnight in Kuala Lumpur before flying off the next morning. Wrote about the adventure here! USA on October 2008 - The flights were from Orlando, Florida to JFK Airport in New York, with connecting flight to Singapore. The connection was too close and the terminals were too far apart. Missed the connection and had to wait for 24 hours for the next flight. Stayed in an airport nearby for the night and spent the next day in JFK until the evening flight home. Australia in 2002 or 2003 - During my study break when I was in Canberra, the flight home was Canberra - Sydney - Singapore - Penang. The Sydney to Singapore flight was delayed due to technica

Missed my flight!

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Note to self: Do not buy morning flight when you're not a morning person! (or just stay up all night until your flight) Missed my flight. I had to buy new tickets.  And now, I'll have less than two and a half days in Penang. { Photo is from We Heart It }

MADE

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From Jason Mraz's blog . The first word he saw was "secrets". Mine was "made". What's yours?

Baby, It's Cold Outside

It's that time of the year when we think of snow, fireplace, presents under the trees...  but being here in Singapore, guess we can only think of lights .  But that should not and would not stop us from enjoying all that Christmas has to offer! My favourite song this Christmas is Baby, It's Cold Outside. It is unconventionally sang by two males - Kirk and Blaine from Glee.  Enjoy the song and, even if it is not cold outside, I hope that there are reasons that are keeping you indoor! Have a great holiday with your love ones. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Sakura at picture perfect Himeji-jo

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{ Japan April 2010 - Day 8 - Himeji } The plan was to spend half a day in Himeji, but due to some delay in leaving Osaka, we only managed to reach Himeji late afternoon. The main, if not only, reason tourists flock to Himeji is to visit the Himeji-jo - the Himeji Castle. Once we reached Himeji, we walked along the (presumably) main road that leads right up to the castle. We were able to catch glimpses of the castle along the way. Once we got there, two things caught my eyes: (1) the number of people all around the area (2) the sign board that seems to be saying that it will be closing at 4pm which did not give us much time. Undeterred, we walked all the way in to the ticketing counter and ask the officer if we can still visit the castle. After some slow Japanese (which doesn't help with our comprehension) and hand signals, we figured out that the last entry is at 4pm but the castle is open till 5. So, we bought our tickets and walked right up to the main castle. The main castle

Weekend beach holidays

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I had two very different beach holiday over the past two months.  The first was a drive up from Singapore to Peninsular Malaysia's East Coast. We managed to cover quite a distance and visited a few small towns within three days. And last weekend, we went to Bintan Resort which was less than an hour ferry ride from Singapore. It is in the Indonesian Bintan Island but mainly targeted for Singapore tourist. We basically did nothing but walked around the beach and soaked in the sun.  Both had been interesting in its own ways, and I promise that I'll write about both soon! { Click here for a list of my travelogues }

city in colour

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How often do you see colours when you travel? Saw this blog little brown pen . It takes colour into a whole new meaning! Check out her blog with lots of photos in her collection of Paris in colour .  It does make you wonder. What colours are there in the last city you went to? So, here's my version of.... japan in red { Click here for other photos of Japan which are not colour coordinated }

Got myself a date with Michael Bublé

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Almost a year ago, I wrote a post on how much I wish to watch Michael Bublé live in concert. Well, guess what?! He is coming to Singapore on 9 March 2011! The tickets went on sale on 24 November 2010, and I went to buy about 3 hours after it opened. I thought I would be on the first few rows but I ended up with tickes on the 13th row! Oh, well, at least I am going to see him live! Can't wait! To those of you who has yet to buy the tickets , please do so before they run out! And, to check if he is coming to your city, do check his website for his tour dates . Having watched his recorded concerts, I am pretty sure that it would be an amazing experience! Here is his latest single, Hollywood, for your listening pleasure... { Photo is from Michael Bublé's website }

italia ti amo

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I want to go to Italy! Pasta, pizza, gondolas, vespa, art, beauty, cafe, gelato, and all things Italian. Really have to start planning for a holiday in Europe soon! { Photos are from We Heart It } 

To see Penang with fresh tourist eyes!

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Every time I'm back in my hometown, Penang , I told myself that I will try to see the city with fresh tourist eyes - to explore, to experience and to see all that Penang has to offer. I have left Penang for more than 10 years but had been going home at least a few times a year. No matter where I have been, Penang is, and will always be close to my heart. Reading an article in the New York Times entitled " In Malaysia, Tourists are Lured By George Town's Colorful Past " brought back the tourist side of me. It reminded me of the many reasons I love about Penang - how it is growing and developing rapidly, and yet all the rich history and culture continued to be part of Penangites' daily lives. A quote from the article describes Penang's cultural heritage... All of this builds on a unique multi-ethnic and multi-religious heritage. The legacy of waves of immigrants from Europe, the Middle East and other parts of Asia over several hundred years is writ large in t

Osaka's Dotonbori and Aquarium

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{ Japan April 2010 - Day 7 & 8 - Osaka } We reached Osaka in the late afternoon and by the time we got to our hotel, which was supposed to be less than 10 minutes walking distance from the train station, the sun was already setting. The reason? We got lost in the huge, complicated and confusing Shin-Osaka Station. Armed with a Japanese map of the hotel , we were walking up and down the stairs, walking towards various exits with the numbers shown in the map, and ended up lost in the huge station. We tried asking for directions many times, and the locals were extremely helpful! While they were willing to help, the language barrier proved to be too much to overcome. So, while we continued to be lost, I loved how they would still try their very best to speak Japanese slowly with lots of hand movements, in the hope that we would be able to understand them. In the end, a kind Japanese control station lady walked with us to one of the exit and drew directions while explaining in slow

Photos from laid-back Vientiane

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Apart from the crazy journey to the capital of Laos, we had a very laid-back and relaxing holiday. Here are some photos from Vientiane before the full travelogue is out! { Click here for a list of my travelogues }

paris je t'aime

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I'm suddenly crazy about all these miniature Eiffel Tower!  I've never been crazy about the Eiffel Tower. To me, it is just a giant iron structure in the middle of Paris. But, I have to admit that there are some beautiful photographs taken of the tower, and it seemed to be synonymous to Paris.  So, why the sudden fascination with these miniatures?  Maybe that's where I should go for my next trip? { Second last photo by  Sarah Lauren Photography , last photo by ♥Emily and the rest are from We Heart It } 

We Heart It

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Stumbled upon this website called We Heart It with amazing photos.  The idea is to allow you to create an online album with photos that you like on the web. You "heart" the photos you saw on web and they will be kept in your personal page. The photos I've seen on the page were amazing and here are some of my favourites!