Out of Norm Travels

I am going to break my usual blog narration approach by letting the wonderful art in Penang speak for itself....throughly enjoyed the walk even though it was pretty hot as it felt like I was hitting jackpot every time I see an art mural or steel rod sculpture! Will definitely return when I get my chance to find many other interesting pieces.... Special thanks to Timothy Tye aka Tim the Traveler ( http://www.penang-traveltips.com/george-town-street-art.htm ) ultra- informative blog about Penang art -without which I will never be able to find out the names and artists of the many photos that I have taken! For those who prefer slide show,   Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!

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...

" Charity Through Photography " is started by 2 gentlemen who came up with the brilliant idea to  added a dose of charity  with my 2 loves, photography & travel. The idea is simple - arrange for trips for those who love to take photographs and travelling so that they can do  a little good by taking trips that bring happiness to the people in the  villages they visit and at the same time, take photographs to document the life of villages itself. I started my 2013 trip list with a 2D1N trip to Bintan, Indonesia which is some 45mins away from Singapore.  We dropped in at a Charcoal village and did a quick photowalk around. Part of this involved the distribution of goodies like stationery, biscuits and clothing to the children who stayed at the village.  It was lovely to spend some time with the villagers & I captured many shots of their simple village life where a simple game of catching crabs can occupy a child's afternoon and fresh seafood can b...

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...