Mini Travel Log: Lake Maggiore, Italy

Lake Maggiore is a very charming place just north of Milan in Italy. The Barromean islands and islets on the lake is so beautiful that you will fall in love with this place at first sight. Beautiful small little towns and villages dot the landscape around the lake, surrounded by the beautiful snow mountains of the Alps. I took a boat ride from the small little town Stresa; which is easily accessible by trains from Milan. Unfortunately because of winter period, few of the Barromean islands were closed to tourists for restoration works on the castle and gardens. I could only admire the beauty from far on the boat. I will definitely return again during summer to enjoy the full attractions of this place.

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Mini Travel Log: Barcelona, Spain

During winter in Barcelona, many tours and excursions were shut down. So I spent my time in the city; re-tracing the steps I took 5 years ago during my backpacking trip in Spain. Barcelona was the first Europe city that I stepped my foot on. During that time, I had limited time and rushed through everything; skipping many hidden jewels in the city. This time, I had all the luxury to slowly explore and enjoy the magnificent architectures around this city. With no crowd this time, I finally managed to step my foot into the famous church of Sagrada Familia. This church was constructed a century ago and yet to be finished. Although more than 100 years old, the interior totally looked light years ahead and alien to me. Initially I thought I have stepped into an alien spaceship. The rest of my days in Barcelona were spent visiting other Gaudi masterpieces like the Casa Battlo, walking by the beach, visiting the grand Barcelona Cathedral and also the Poble de Espanyol (Spanish village).

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Related link: The Summer Catalunya Tour
Related link: Spain: Barcelona, Madrid, Seville

Earliest New Year 2013

This year, I experienced being one of the earliest person to celebrate the arrival of new year 2013 in a major city. With GMT of +13, I clocked in the first day at least 24 hours earlier than the last island and people to welcome the new year somewhere in the Pacific islands. New year celebration in Auckland is not as grand as the ones in Sydney and other big cities. In fact almost every year, they only have very low key fireworks display from the Auckland Tower.

Fireworks

Timelapse: Welcoming the first light of 2013, Auckland

Mini Travel Log: Hong Kong, China (4)

It is always great to have relatives in the country you visit because they can bring you to beautiful places less well known to tourists. This time in Hong Kong, my cousin brought me to Hong Kong outskirt places like Sai Kung, Shek-O and Stanley Bay. Sai Kung is actually a very interesting place where you can find "水上人" (water people) that live on their boats and trade their daily catch of seafood. There are many seafood restaurants here with huge varieties of seafood to choose from. Or you can simply buy live seafood from the "水上人" and bring it home to cook. Shek-O like its name is a rocky bay area at a secluded place south of Hong Kong island. Here you can find interesting rock features with many bungalows built on the cliffs overlooking the vast ocean. I'm sure this is one of the hot place for wedding photography for the locals because I think it provides a fantastic backdrop. While I was here, there was a couple taking their wedding shots here. Stanley Bay is just another small residential area but with many pubs lining the coast line. People flock here during the weekends to look for drinking hole and also food.

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Related link: Mini Travel Log: Hong Kong, China (3)
Related link: Mini Travel Log: Hong Kong, China (2)
Related link: Mini Travel Log: Hong Kong, China (1)

Mini Travel Log: Macau, China

I am one of those typical naive tourist whom are easily charmed by the beauty of Macau on advertisements shown on TV and billboards. Since young I have always been fascinated by that wall of St. Paul Church ruins. Now that I have seen it in person, it is really just a piece of wall of a typical church. Macau is such a small place, some call it country. The only glitters are the night lights of Macau casinos. Amid these glittering sin towers all over the city, the rest are just run down and cramped apartment houses. This place is heaven for gamblers, a hell hole if you lose all your fortunes in the casinos. Tourist attraction places are limited to a few spots. Unless you plan to blow away your fortunes in the casinos, you can just spend half a day here and you would have seen all of Macau. Many tourists are doing the same half day tour that I have suggested from Hong Kong and Zhuhai.

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Mini Travel Log: San Francisco, USA (6)

I spent my Christmas in San Francisco again. But this time with my lovely wife. We rented a car for Christmas shopping and also to explore hidden places in the city. After watching Ken Block's Gymkhana 5 on YouTube, I have always wanted to go up to that hill for the spectacular night view. This year, my Christmas wish came true.

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Breathtaking day/night view of San Francisco

Ken Block's Gymkhana 5 video

Related link: San Francisco Time Lapse
Related link: Mini Travel Log: San Francisco, USA (5)
Related link: Mini Travel Log: San Francisco, USA (4)
Related link: Mini Travel Log: San Francisco, USA (3)
Related link: Mini Travel Log: San Francisco, USA (2)
Related link: Mini Travel Log: San Francisco, USA (1)

I Survived... Yet Another Apocalypse

Hey, so the world didn't end on the 21st Dec. So it's time to celebrate. Merry Christmas everyone! Here are some lights from Orchard Road, Singapore.

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Singapore Zoo

I have been to the Singapore Zoo a couple of times. But I did not have a camera to take some shots last time. This time, I brought along a camera but I discovered it is really hard to take some nice pictures and animal shots. I do not possess a long zoom lens. Most of the animals like to hide in their own secluded corner which is very far from the spectators. I was expecting to see the polar bears again but found out that they were actually relocated to an off-public temporary shelter because their old shelter is too small which caused stress to the bears. Sadly, few days after I visited the zoo and thought of the bears, a sad news reported that the mother polar bear Sheba had died, leaving her son Inuka alone. The other big attraction coming up in the zoo is the newly arrived panda bears of Jia Jia and Kai Kai. Unfortunately it is not open to the public until the 29th November. The zoo is now hosting private viewings for some organizations which left me and some other visitors disappointed who had thought we could have the chance to see them as well instead of "special" treatment to the privileged first.

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