Out of Norm Travels

For 2019 , my Japan adventures kickstarted with Fireworks at  Lake Biwa and Osaka in August (here is the blog entry for my Fireworks trip Osaka trip) and recently in November to Saga (mainly  for the Saga International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta - blog entry here).  This entry is for an unexpected detour to  Karatsu , an hour away from for their Karatsu Festival .  Karatsu (唐津) is where this festival is held and is a coastal city in Saga Prefecture on Kyushu, about 50 kilometers west of Fukuoka. In the past, Karatsu was a major stop for ships making the journey towards Korea and China because it is one of the closest Japanese cities to the Korean Peninsula. Today the city is known for its castle, the annual Karatsu Kunchi festival held in November 2 to 4 every year.  During Karatsu Kunichi, floats are paraded in the order of completion with the oldest being the Red Lion Aka-jishi (made in 1819) and youngest float called 7 Jewel (Shichiho-maru) made in 1876.  The atmosphere of festival

UPDATE: I did a video collation of the various timelapse taken during my Nepal trip:  MagTY Video_We will Rise Again Prayer Flags of Nepal  For many, travelling is a sort of ala "Amazing Race" with the maximization of the limited time in a particular location by going from point A to point B. Well, for the first time in my life, I gave myself the luxury of time by signing up for a 4 days yoga retreat in Nepal in early March 2020. Mind you, I am neither flexible nor a yoga fanatic so I was definitely doing something that scared me.   What is Yoga?  For those unaware, Yoga is an ancient philosophy and practice of health and well being. The practice emphasizes the quality of health and life with diet, physical acts, posture, breath, mental, rest and meditation, In the modern world, it has somewhat gained momentum with emphasis on the physical aspects.  Yoga retreat Booking I booked my retreat  via  bookyogaretreats.com   at Himalayan Yoga Academy , which

I did a short roam over to Saga Japan earlier in November 2019 to witness the famous Saga International Balloon Fiesta, Asia's largest hot-air balloon festival. The 2019 Balloon Fiesta itself ran from October 30th (Wed) to November 5th (Tue) 2019. After landing in Fukuoka on Nov 1, it was an easy 1 hour bus connection direct from Fukuoka airport after purchasing the ticket machine from the ticketing machine. The bus comes at dedicated timing stated on the bus board.  Over the 6 days, SIBF combines three "tournaments" with grand fireworks and light shows put on by the hot-air balloons. The main launch site usually starts sending the hot-air balloons up for the competitions at around 7am. Weather is always a factor as the balloons cannot be put up during bad weather or strong winds. In fact, the afternoon competition flight on Nov 1 was cancelled due to strong winds. For 2019, there were 123 pilots from all over the world, 17 countries including Japan and a t

In August, I made it 2 fireworks with  a single flight to Osaka .  The first fireworks is held at L ake Biw a (Otsu) which is a short 30mins ride from Kyoto for its Lake   Biwa  Fireworks  ( びわ湖大花火大会 ) . This  is a spectacular fireworks event held at the largest  lake  in the country,  Lake   Biwa  in Shiga Prefecture .  This hour-long fireworks event displays over 10,000 colourful fireworks over the magnificent  lake , inviting over 350,000 viewers every year.  As I didn't manage to get the seating area, I basically went to a nearby shore area in the afternoon to witness this event. Here is a short video (albeit tilted) and some photos taken at the event:  For more info of this fireworks event, go to  https://www.biwako-visitors.jp/hanabi/ .  I've enjoyed my time at Lake Biwa and will see you again in 2020!  The 2nd Fireworks event is held at Osaka city itself near the Yodo River. The 2019 Naniwa Yodogawa Fireworks Display is on its 31st ann

Penang aka Pearl of the Orient was where I indulged my food cravings and laid my head for 3 nights some 2 weeks ago. Its street food helped Penang to hold the Best Foodie Destination badge by Lonely Planet in 2014 and ensured that this little state, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, is mentioned over and over again in countless food blogs, websites, news and magazines.  Food in Penang is generally time segregated with many stalls open for a specific period. For a foodie like me, this can actually mean that I could eat different types of food at different time periods in the SAME location! Talk about gluttony at its finest! So here was my food roll call for this trip!   Morning from 7am: 7am to 12 pm: Transfer Road Roti Canai . This real piece of Penang heritage has been dishing up this typical Malaysian food from the same roadside stall for some 80+ years. This photo does not do justice to the delicious fluffy and thin (almost filo-like) crispy layer o

I attended the Venice Carnival for a 2nd time in February 2019. Last year's shoot was a blur but I gathered that since I am more experienced last year, this year would be a breeze but I was pleasantly mistaken. I have seen and heard things this year that I totally missed out in last year's visit and have come to appreciate the people who make the Venice Carnival ( Carnevale di Venezia) possible...the Models!  As I don't know if I will make a third visit back to Venice for the Carnival, I thought it is best for me to give my heartfelt thanks to ALL the Models (masked or otherwise) who make Venetian Carnival one of the most special events in my heart! Here's a snapshot of my learning points from models who take part in the Venetian Carnival. Many of the models do not get much appreciation or receive limited feedback from photographers. I was shocked to learn that most do not at least get photos in return. I too was guilty of that when I came last year