Out of Norm Travels

After reading a recent article covering Hong Kong Heritage Buildings, I was gladdened to see that Tai O Heritage Hotel was mentioned as one of the Heritage successes of Hong Kong (info from hk-magazine.com ) and also reminded of my trip down this last remaining fishing village of Hong Kong called "Tai O". It was a nice contrast to the bustling metropolitan city of Hong Kong and on the way to the famous Lantau island (where the big Buddha is).  This lovely Heritage hotel was of course a beautiful respite from the extreme heat felt on that sunny July day back in 2012 (reputedly one of the hottest day of that year right before Hong Kong experienced its 1st Hurricane Signal no. 10 since 1999 (BTW it's the highest tropical cyclone warning signal in Hong Kong where an estimated maximum sustained winds of 155 km/hr was recorded near its centre).  For 100 years, the Tai O Police Station served the quiet West Lantau fishing community of Tai O, combating smuggling and piracy ...

What does these 3 museums have in common? Well, from what I have read so far, the collections are all privately owned, privately managed by people who simply love what they have collected and want to showcase their collection to the world. For me, the 3 Museums also showcases one of the most special things about Thailand i.e. the quirkiness of its people. I wish to clarify that Thai quirkiness to me means their special sense of individuality and uniqueness. Added to that mix is their ability to express that in the most expressive way known i.e. have a museum dedicated to what they love. Now onto some bits of info for each museum..... At Jesada Tecknik Museum , you have to prepare yourself as you will be visiting a museum that is in the middle of nowhere. But once you are there, you will find your reward because this place is simply filled to the helms with vintage cars, motorcycle, trains & buses. There is even an aeroplane on its grounds! Entrance to the museum is free ...

Just a mere 2 hours drive from Bangkok is another gem called " Suan Phueng " aka New Zealand of Thailand .  Suan Phueng is at  the bordering district of Ratchaburi and p opular amongst the Thais. It boasts a  healthy  dose of fresh air and vast green fields. As we had some big and small children  (including some "young at hearts") , this was just about the best place to be. We spent up to the most part of a day at "NewLand", an amusement park area. For an inexpensive 400baht/S$16, the kids had a wild time trying out Archery and Cross Bow; took out the ATV for a spin and did some sheep feeding after a cute choo-choo Train ride round the little area.    The entire Suan Pheung is peppered with Mediterranean-themed resorts which are destinations in themselves, some complete with horse ranches, sheep farms, trickling streams and European gardens. We had a quaint stay at one of the local stays & woke up to beautiful sunrise & basked in the glor...

A long standing travel wish was fulfilled in November 2012 when I attended Thailand's International Balloon Festival at Chiang Mai , in northern Thailand. I was fortunate enough to be there for the morning flights and evening programmes for 2 out of the 3 days of the Festival as the 3rd day of the festival forced to be cancelled due to a huge thunderstorm. It was a festival like no other that I have attended elsewhere - it was filled with lovely big balloons and a marvelous carnival-like atmosphere in the evenings complete with music and delicious food for picnic on the grounds of one of the oldest golf courses in Thailand. One cannot feel but happiness and joy when seeing the hot air balloons take off into the big blue skies. Truly a beautiful sight!  I managed to get up close with the balloon when it was being filled and it was HOT, HOT, HOT!  I have made a pledge to come down for the 2013 festival as for me, this is the Life that is worth livin...

Borobudur Temple  is one of the most well-known Buddhist UNESCO heritage site in the world - it dates back to 8th century. Other than Great Wall of China ( that was completed earlier in June ), this is also on my "must-see" places.  Borobudur itself has 6  platforms topped by three circular platforms. Walking around the thousands of relief panels & Buddha statutes, I am both  marveled  and humbled by the breath-taking view of the magnificent and s pectacular  monument. I can only imagine and wonder how long it took for craftsmen long gone to build such a beautiful piece of artwork . It is with effort that you climb up the structure and  definitely  one to be undertaken when you go to Borobudur although w alking and climbing can b e quite hot by late morning/early afternoon. Plenty of water & an unhurried mind is required to take in its full beauty.    Another  UNESCO World Heritage site of  Prambanan Temples ...

Did a 'theme parks' round at Gold Coast Australia complete with a stay at a trailer park. Didn't plan it that way but that's how it turned out as Treasure Island Resort is actually Treasure Island Caravan Park. It's closer to the theme parks but not so much actually as you have to take 2 buses to get to the Wet n Wild, Movie World & Dream World. Sea World is another direction. We managed with 2 kids in tow to traverse the Gold Coast area of theme parks and overdid on burgers and pizzas binge-ing (nothing much else to eat in Australia anyway) in a whirlwind 5D4N trip.  Heros & Villains of eons ago Turn around, choo-choos & kisses Kids having a fun time riding the rides @ the parks Kudos to my husband for braving the 19 degree temperatures complete with wind and rain topped up with a 4am wake up call for a 9am flight. Will recommend a similar trip but complete with a stay at Surfers Paradise if you are not too keen on 5 or 6pm shop closure...

Getting to Ten Thousand Buddha Monastery was an adventure for me as I am not too familiar with places outside the usual touristy areas. Located at 221 Pai Tau Village, Shatin, New Territories, I had to take MTR East Rail line to Shatin Station (exit B), walk towards the end of Sheung Wo Che Road before reaching the path that will make the journey all worthwhile.  Tips for travelers:  1. Once there, take your time to climb uphill leading up to the monastery as both sides of the pathway are lined with golden colored Buddha statues. I had quite a lovely time making the climb as I reached there around 10a.m., took a leisurely breakfast / lunch at the vegetarian restaurant located at the grounds before heading down at 1p.m.  2. Do make the climb ALL the way up and you will be rewarded with a beautiful white gigantic Guan Yin statue. Oh yes! Did I mention that there is no admission charge? Personally, this was a definite plus since almost everything costs here in HK. Fo...

Kuala Lumpur or better known as KL has provided the usual activities for me personally i.e. shopping & eating but in my recent trip down to KLr, I was shown a different side to this all too familiar location.  A few hours away from KL city centre (specifically Lata Berembun Kuala Lumpur), there is a lovely waterfall that cascades down into a pool. This welcome sight only comes in after a back breaking and knee jerking an hour's journey on an open-top jeep. I have been on jeeps in the past but never in conditions that involved a trip into potholes & extremely muddy conditions. I consider it a natural roller coaster ride. At the end of the trip, I had sore muscles from all the holding onto the bars (to prevent falling off the 4WD cos one can be easily thrown out of the car as it navigates the terrain) and a new high from breathing in of the fresh air.  Would I do it again? Perhaps so but i have to forget the pain for this trip & only remember the high...

This is a tick of my "to-do" list - Climb the Great Wall of China. There was never a doubt in my mind that I will do this climb & I was fortunate enough to do it again before I turn half century old.  Unlike my recollection of my first trip up along the Great Wall where I had little time to explore the Great Wall, this trip was arranged specially to ensure that I got to travel from one end of the Wall to another. As a result, I got to spend a significant time taking photos of the journey up along the Wall (without the thousands of best friends that would get their head into the picture). I specifically avoided the more popular Badaling section is where hordes of tourists are ferried when it comes to climbing the Great Wall.  This time the climb was carried out at the JingShanLing section of the Wall - where the old section of the Wall is still standing. This meant that in most areas my group of 3 was very much walking up along the Wall on our own with not many other t...