Articles from this Category
19 December 2010
I woke early to take the public transport (shared minivan taxi) to Kota Belud for its famous Sunday market. It’s the stuff that childhood dreams are made of, influenced by those tourism posters eg. Bajau horsemen, markets selling jungle produce, water buffaloes being traded … all against the backdrop of SE Asia’s highest peak, Mount […]
18 December 2010
We opted for a yum char (dim sum) breakfast … it seems wrong to do anything else in Hong Kong, seeing that it’s the home of this wonderful breakfast/ brunch grazing tradition. Interestingly, some of the accompanying traditions don’t make it out of here. I watched as diners poured their hot tea from the pot […]
17 December 2010
With a 0615 arrival in to Hong Kong, it made sense for us to recharge with a couple of hours sleep … followed by a rejuvenating cheap massage, before hitting the markets to do some Xmas shopping in the afternoon. We had dinner with my old schoolfriend Rosalind, and finally got to meet her husband […]
28 July 2010
I departed Banda Aceh for Kuala Lumpur at 1245. On the way to Banda Aceh airport I noticed a woman with a very short skirt on her motorbike. I queried the taxi driver if she would get in trouble … he replied to the negative, as she was Chinese and not a Muslim. While the extreme […]
27 July 2010
The Tsunami of 26 December 2004 This morning I took the ferry from Pulau Weh to the mainland and checked into a hotel for the night. I chose to take in some of the reminders of the tsunami which killed 170000 people in Aceh but, not the mass graves which are available for visits. The tsunami […]
26 July 2010
My Two Dives I did two dives today with Lumba Lumba Dive Resort, as planned … but not quite. The manager suggested that I do a refresher dive as I wasn’t highly experienced (15 dives) and it had been about 9 months since my last dive. Of course I suspected this was at an extra cost […]
26 July 2010
My Two Dives I did two dives today with Lumba Lumba Dive Resort, as planned … but not quite. The manager suggested that I do a refresher dive as I wasn’t highly experienced (15 dives) and it had been about 9 months since my last dive. Of course I suspected this was at an extra cost […]
25 July 2010
Fashion Crisis Takes a New Meaning I checked out from the airport Tune Hotel and walked to the nearby terminal for my 1155 departure from Kuala Lumpur to Banda Aceh, I had time for a leisurely curry breakfast (rendang, tempeh, cucumber and pineapples) after dropping off my bag at the baggage drop, then taking the […]
18 July 2010
I landed at Dubai at 0100 for a short 1h45 transit to Colombo at 0245. I arrived into Colombo airport at 0845 and after clearing the immigration queue from hell, I took a taxi to Mt Lavinia on the other side of the city where the Tropic Inn was located. The ride was expensive but […]
17 July 2010
Grotto Excursion and More This is my last day in Beirut before I fly out at 2045 tonight to Dubai then Colombo. There’s a whole day to fill. I invited Claire (also staying at the hostel) to join me in going to the Jeita Grottoes. We made a brief stop at Nahr al-Kalb (Dog River […]