Articles from this Category
9 April 2015
Above: Waiting to leave my hometown Kuching. I left Kuching at a civilised time of 1040 for Tokyo via Kuala Lumpur on AirAsia and then AirAsia X. The two hour transit in KL gave me enough time to fit in a quick light lunch at the lounge before boarding the flight to Tokyo, the world’s […]
29 March 2015
I accompanied my aunt to church this morning in her old neighbourhood of Serangoon. As we were early, we drove around and saw how her old house (and many others) had changed from simple single storey to typically three. After church, we had a simple lunch at home. The heavens had opened and wept for […]
26 March 2015
We managed to get our last-minute paid upgrade to Business Class for the flight to Singapore departing at 0115. Despite the ungodly timing, I stayed up for the supper service before sleeping, because I was hungry. I had expected to skip it in favour of a longer downtime but my tummy rules. I did have […]
8 March 2015
We were a bit worried about the weather impacting our flight back. We were told not to worry; I guess the locals can read the weather better than we can. We explored a bit more of the island by car today, taking in the Kaitoke hot spring which involved a scenic hike. By the time […]
7 March 2015
I woke up feeling like a brand new person compared to yesterday evening! I had more than 11 hours sleep instead of my usual 6! We spent the day exploring as much of the island as we could. Lunch at Port Fitzroy consisted of a delicious burger but the staff were dippy beyond reality. First […]
6 March 2015
Above: Flying to Great Barrier at low altitude. It was only a 30 minute flight from Auckland to the Barrier on a Britten Norman Islander. We left from North Shore Airfield rather than Auckland Airport, not only because of the proximity to our home but also to avoid parking hassles/costs at a big airport. Due […]
25 January 2015
We checked in at the office of Pee Jay White Island Tours in the morning and paid for our trip before heading to the boat. The 90 minute journey to White Island started with us leaving the Whakatane River going past the sandbar (which can due to tidal conditions determine the departure time). As we […]
10 January 2015
This morning, I got a rental car for AUD20 today from my hotel and drove to various points of interest on the island. There isn’t a ring road due to the topography so there was a little bit of backtracking. I soon noticed that everyone waves when you’re driving around! The scenery and buildings seemed […]
9 January 2015
Above: First thing I noticed when I stepped out of the airport were the short double digit number plates on some cars. I also saw a single digit one. Most were four digit though. Gabriel dropped me off at the airport around 0730 for my 0935 departure to Norfolk Island from Sydney Airport’s international terminal. […]
1 January 2015
I had called the state forestry office yesterday to enquire whether any rafflesias (world’s largest flower) were in bloom. Rather unexpectedly, they said “Yes, there is one on its last day” and encouraged me to go. So, it was a disappointment for me to wake up to a wet day. While the rain wasn’t torrential, […]