Bali

Bali, Indonesia

Covid has stopped tourism for a good while now. Finally, it is time to travel again and hence, the reawakening of this travel blog. We are starting it out easy by visiting nearby places first. This trip was done together with my dearie as a mini-moon. Bali has no lack of beautiful sceneries, a tropical island complete with mountains, rivers and lakes. While travelling around Bali, I slowly realized how big the tourism industry is in Bali. In this one trip, we tried new things and experienced new exciting flavours that sparked the creativity for new recipes. We really forged many beautiful memories that would not be forgotten for time to come.

21 July 2023, Singapore > Denpasar > Seminyak, Cloudy

Dearie and I ended work shortly after lunch. She made her way back after all errands were completed and we packed hurriedly to go to the airport. Our flight flies from T4, so we had the chance to meet my father. He met us at the newly opened Burger King, although he didn't join us for dinner. After we finished, we checked in for a smooth flight to Denpasar. We got some instant noodles from Circle K and grabbed to our first hotel: Hikari Guesthouse. It was already late when we are ready to sleep. I did not take any photos for today, because I didn't regard this day as an actual touring day.

22 July 2023, Seminyak > Ulun Danu Beratan > Tanah Lot > Seminyak, Cloudy

After having a pretty good rest at the guest house, we went outside to explore the area to find a breakfast spot. After walking around for a bit, we decided on a very local Warung, because we wanted to try their local food. It was really cheap, a bowl of fried noodles for less than a dollar. A plate of fried rice for about a dollar. The taste is very homely Indonesian too. After that, we went back and explored the guesthouse a bit. Turns out this guesthouse used to do glamping on the rooftop, but it might have died down due to covid. After preparing for our journey for the day, we met our driver Adhe in front of our guest house, and we began the journey up north towards Ulun Danu Beratan. We stopped halfway for lunch, but it wasn't great. We also stopped at some IndoMart along the way to get some comforting drinks. We reached Ulun Danu Beratan in the afternoon. We first made a stop at Handara gate, but upon realizing that we needed to wait half an hour just for pictures, we turned around and left. Now, for the real temple on the water. It is actually very touristy and crowded. We walked around amongst the crowd and took as many photos with as many angles as we can before leaving the place. Our next destination is Tanah Lot, which is quite a drive back down south. We made it back before the sun set. We took some photos at the entrance before going into the area to explore. There are many shops along the way to the Pura itself. The Pura itself is on a rock that seems to be impervious to erosion from the crashing waves. Even the land at the backward side of the rock is already eroded, but the rock that the Pura sits on is still quite tall. Perhaps, that is a reason why the locals built a Pura on this very rock. It was low tide when we were there, and we were able to traverse around the whole terrain. We took many beautiful sunset shots here.

In this shot, you can see the Pura standing on the rock, surrounded by eroded lower land. When it was finally dark, we made our way up to find some shops. We had dinner among sandflies, although we had a great view for dinner. It would have been an amazing experience if not for the constant harassment from the flies. After dinner, Adhe drove us back to our guesthouse. We made a stop at some local Warungs to get some food because the portion for dinner was too little. There is one shop that sells very awesome fried chicken, complete with delicious (a tad too spicy for me) sambal, for a very reasonable price. After our supper, we rested for the night.

23 July 2023, Seminyak > Kintamani, Cloudy

Dearie ordered in Grab food from a local Warong. We ate inside the hotel room before packing for day. Our first stop was UC Silver Gold. It is actually a large shop that sells silver and gold. It wasn't super awesome, but, there is a rather awesome museum beside it. A 720 kg silver dragon was on display. It is even in the Guinness World Record for the biggest dragon made entirely from silver. Many precious stones were also on display around the museum. After we are contented with photos, we continued our journey. We made a special stop at Pura Puseh Desa Batuan. The highlight of this Pura is the stone carvings. We were rented a sarong to wear into the Pura. To dearie, it is coming back to a place she visited, but now with me. To me, it is another interesting place for photo taking. After this, we went to Bebek Tebasari Resto for a late lunch. This meal is perhaps the best meal that we had in this trip. Of course, I had the bebek cooked in Balinese spices. Dearie had fish wrapped inside banana leaves.

To top it off, we were seated in a gazebo with a view of the padi fields. The harmony of the spices for both dishes was just perfect. It is then I realized we have unlocked a new form of enjoyment: having a meal with an awesome view. Not sure whether it is the view, or the food that made us enjoy the meal. Perhaps the view made us enjoy the food better, or perhaps it was both. After the satisfying meal, we continued our journey to Kintamani. We reached Kintamani early, but chose to go straight to our BnB at Lakeside Log Cabins. The environment surrounding this BnB is really awesome.

This was the view right outside of Lakeside Log Cabins. We spent quite some time taking photos and enjoying the beautiful views. We had our mujair nyat nyat dinner peacefully in the BnB and rested early for the night, in preparation for the next day.

24 July 2023, Kintamani > Ubud, Cloudy/Clear

We were woken by many engine revving sounds before five. Or maybe we did not sleep well because we are anticipating the Mount Batur Sunrise Jeep tour. Our private jeep driver waited for us early in the morning. His name is Ricky, and he drives a black jeep, which we soon realize is a unique colour. We climbed onto the back seat of his jeep and set off in the dark. Along the way up Mount Batur, many jeeps were also seen climbing up in the same path. Soon, a queue started to form. We arrived mid-way up Batur with many other jeeps. It is now then I realize how touristy this activity is. We got off the jeep and explored the surroundings to find a good spot to enjoy the sun rise. Alas, when the sun rose, there were clouds along the horizon, obscuring the sun. However, everyone cheered when the sun finally peeked out from the clouds. I found it strange that we are celebrating a sun rise. Nevertheless, it was a unique moment. A while later, a fog grew on the mountain and made the sun rise a very cloudy one. Ricky helped us to take photos of us together with his jeep. Ricky is not just a skilled jeep driver, but also an awesome photographer. He brought along a smooth reflective surface and helped us to take photos that have the illusion of being above still water, hence having a nice reflection. Amazing guy. Our next stop is the Black Lava. This place is a barren landscape full of young black stones. 

There is a certain charm to having a jeep traverse such a terrain. Ricky used the stones to make a pile of rocks with a hole in the centre, then took photographs through the hole, using stones to make the frame. It is really an awesome idea, but only phone cameras can make this effect look nice. My camera just have very blurry stones around the frame. Our next stop is the Batur Natural Hot Spring. After getting changed, we immersed ourselves into the spring water together with many other tourists. Too touristy. I was a bit skeptical of the cleanliness of the water, while dearie lamented on the water being not hot enough. We didn't stay inside for long. We had brunch with a lake view, but together with a lot of houseflies. Not too pleasant. After that, Ricky drove us back to our BnB. At the BnB, dearie took out the drone and took some aerial photos with it. We packed up and left the BnB. We extended our 'taxi' by asking Ricky if he can bring us to Pura Jati and drop us off at a cafe on the top of the ridge, to which he agreed. Pura Jati is often confused with Pura Segara Ulun Danu Batur since they are next to each other. Pura Jati does not allow foreign visitors, but Pura Segara allows. Ricky immediately understood that we meant Pura Segara and he brought us there. This Pura is a unique visit because it is not touristy at all. After giving some donations, we were given sarong to wear and then we entered the area. We were very glad that we chose to come here. There was only one other pair of travelers there when we arrived. This allowed us to take very beautiful pictures, like the one at the beginning of this post. Again, Ricky told us where all the photo spots are, and also helped us to take many beautiful pictures. After taking photos till our heart's content, we left the place and went back up to Kintamani town. We were very thankful for such an awesome private jeep driver, we even took a selfie with him. Here, we met Adhe and he drove us to Warong Jowet for mujair nyat nyat lunch. Yes, this fish again, because this is a local Kintamani specialty. We had the fish with the view of Mount Batur.

This is Mount Batur. You can even see the black lava. What a way to end our visit to Kintamani. After lunch, we drove down towards Ubud. We made a stop at Penglipuran village, a local Balinese village that has opened up for tourists to visit. We took a few photographs here before continuing the journey to Ubud. We stopped at Babi Guling Bu Desak Pejeng to buy Babi Guling takeaway. We reached our next accommodation at about 6. Here, we bid farewell to Adhe. This night, we are staying in a private villa called Adyuta Private House. The very nice host carried our luggage all the way throughout the walk to the place and showed us around his villa. This place is really beautiful. It comes complete with an outdoor pool, kitchen, hot tub and toilet. We walked around the villa to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings before sitting down for dinner. The Babi Guling is not too great, perhaps because it has turned cold. We then took a bath in the hot tub before resting for the night. I got sunburnt today... but, what a fully packed and eventful day!

25 July 2023, Ubud > Sanur, Clear

I slept in because the villa is so comfortable. After having a quick breakfast, we went to have a morning swim in the pool.

The water is cold, and it took a while before we were acclimatized. It was just a short swim before we realize that we have to check out soon. We will definitely miss this villa. After checking out, we walked around and stumbled upon a cafe. We had our lunch here before calling for Gojek to go to our Sanur hotel to check in first. Smooth trip to Sanur. We checked into Palm Garden Hotel, applied sun block and went out to walk along Sanur beach. There are many resorts, hotels and restaurants along Sanur beach. It was windy and the sun doesn't shine directly over the beach during sunset.

We even found a swing by the beach, and dearie went to play on it for a while. We enjoyed the walk, and finally decided to have dinner in a new restaurant here, called Costa by Monsta. The food here is great. We had an awesome dinner on the beach with a sea view. Again, we were not sure if the view actually made us enjoy the food even more. We ordered cocktails to go with the food. It was truly a magnificent experience. When we were done with the mains, we felt cold, so we moved inside the restaurant. We ordered some shots in an attempt to get high. It was mildly effective. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and rested for the night.

26 July 2023, Sanur > Nusa Penida > Sanur, Clear

This day is a long day. We bought the West Nusa Penida Tour with snorkelling from Klook. Today's post would actually be an uncensored and unsponsored review on this popular tour trip. We woke up early and made instant noodles at the front counter of the restaurant. We got a driver to pick us up in front of our hotel, and he brought us to the jetty. We were asked to wait at a cafe before the ferry tickets were distributed. The groups of people going to Nusa Penida were huge. We waited patiently for the people to arrange us. Finally, we got up the ferry and we rested along the trip there. Nusa Penida was farther than I imagined. We put on sunblock when we arrived since it was a bright clear sunny day. We met our driver for the land portion of the tour. We were grouped together with a Thai girl and a Korean girl for the car. Our first stop is Angel's Billabong infinity pool. It was about half an hour drive from the pier.

The colours in the pool sure is unique, but the whole place is already filled with tourists like us. We did not spend too much time here before making our way to broken beach, which is actually just walking distance nearby. Broken beach is quite a remarkable landform. A large hole was made in the rocks due to erosion from the sea. A beach formed at the water's end inside this catchment. Dearie commented that this is even more unique than Angel's Billabong. Truly spectacular landform.

After taking some mandatory shots here, we continued our journey to the famous Kelingking beach, T-rex shaped rock. You might find many advertisements of Bali showing this very same rock.

The photo speaks for itself. See the T-rex? It is really remarkable. However, Nusa Penida as a whole is very touristy, and it was very difficult to get good photos. It is possible to go down to the beach, but since we were in a tour group, this was not an option. We took as much photos as we can with the allocated time and continued with our tour. Lunch was part of the package, at a restaurant on the island. It was terrible, won't elaborate more. After lunch, the driver took us back to the pier. We were then told to get ready for the next part of the trip, the snorkeling. We got changed in the toilets nearby. There were about eleven of us for the snorkeling trip. We walked down the beach to go up to the snorkeling boat. The first stop is Gamat Bay. We were rookies at snorkeling and struggled with the snorkeling fin while inside the water. It took us a while to start enjoying the whole experience. This snorkeling spot is beautiful. Dearie took many videos under water.There were corals over the sea bed and many small fishes swim around us. I got tired very quickly, likely because of the snorkeling goggles. After about 15 minutes, we were called back to the boat. I began to develop a headache, so I decided to skip the next spot. The boat drove us to the next stop, which is called Wall Bay. Brave dearie went down by herself with the rest. After resting for a bit, I recovered enough to take out my camera to take some photographs of dearie snorkeling.

I managed to get her without the other people. Just look at her enjoying herself! It was her first time snorkeling and I could see that she thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. She kept her phone in front of her and took many videos of the snorkeling experience. They soon swam back to the boat. Then, the boat took us to the third spot. I was unable to catch the name of this spot. but it was more out in the open sea. It could be Ceningan View. I recovered enough to participate for this spot. Dearie and I jumped into the water together. Not sure why I could not forget this scene. The water is quite deep here and we could not see the bottom clearly. Some of the people in the group managed to spot turtles around here, but we didn't. Again, I quickly tired myself out with the weird headache. Soon, we were called back to the boat and we went back to the shore, ending the snorkeling trip. We showered and got changed and waited for the ferry to take us back to Sanur. In all, it was an awesome, but touristy trip in Nusa Penida. We went back to the hotel for a quick shower before coming out again for dinner. The dinner spot was pre-decided, a restaurant near our hotel that has live band. The food wasn't super awesome, so we decided to walk to Costa to have a second serving of dinner. We also ordered shots in an attempt to get ourselves drunk, but it just wasn't strong enough. After that, we went back to the hotel and rest. What another fun-filled day.

27 July 2023, Sanur > Denpasar > Singapore, Clear

We were given a free breakfast from the hotel, courtesy of the hotel management. In fact, the hotel staff were really very accommodating to all our requests. After breakfast, we took Gojek to go up slightly north to go walk around a local beach market. While trying to find the beach market, we stumbled upon a turtle conservatory and hatchery, so we went inside to have a look.

This was an adult, but there were also many cute little baby turtles. We finally found the beach markets, but they were mostly closed in the morning, so we walked back to the main street and walked south along it, hoping to reach a shopping mall that dearie have went before. We stopped by a Havaianas store, but ended up not buying anything. We finally reached the mall. Here, we bought many souvenirs and snacks to bring back to Singapore. We took Gojek back to the hotel, packed up and checked out. Not wanting to miss the local Balinese food, we went to a restaurant called Lidah Lokal, selling Indonesian cuisine. It was a really long wait for our food, one that made us anxious since we have a flight to catch. Just when we were giving up the wait, the food came. The barbequed fish was really very good. However, it did not satisfy dearie since it wasn't strictly Balinese flavours. We ate hurriedly and went back to our hotel to collect our luggage. We then got Gojek for the trip to the airport. It was a smooth trip back to Singapore. This wraps up our memorable trip to Bali. We had a really chill trip and enjoyed the whole journey. For me, one big takeaway from Bali is actually the music that was played in many restaurants and places that we visited. I have been listening to Bali music as I wrote this blog entry. I will miss Bali. Till our next trip, scheduled in November: Japan.

Southwestern America, USA

I got the opportunity to visit America once more for a science conference. This time, it is in San Francisco. I took the opportunity to include travelling to Grand Canyon and Los Angeles into the itinerary to complete the whole trip. I have decided to bring my dearie along this time so that we can travel to a far away place together. With its ups and downs, planned and spontaneous itinerary, this trip to America was no short of surprises, fun, excitement, and beautiful pictures with my new camera.

8 December 2019, Hong Kong > Taipei > San Francisco, Cloudy

Dearie and I ate instant noodle breakfast in a hotel located in Mongkok, then took the bus towards the airport. We have left very early for the airport because we wanted to be safe. Upon reaching the airport, we realized we have many hours to spare. We sat on the seats and bought some food for a light lunch. Soon, it was time for the short flight to Taipei. Flight was smooth. We did not wait for long before it was time to embark on the long flight to San Francisco. After a smooth eleven hour flight, we landed, still day time, in San Francisco. We queued for hours to get through the customs. Finally, we got our luggage and took the train to the city centre.

While walking towards the hotel, we played safe and bought subway for dinner. After we checked in, we went out for a little walk and do some initial exploration. It was actually a really long day, but most of the time was spent sleeping on the plane.

9 December 2019, San Francisco, Cloudy

Today was the first day of the conference. I woke up early and went out with dearie. We ate breakfast at a local burger place, called Super Duper Burgers. It was average, in my opinion. We then went onward to the conference center where I registered myself. I then bid farewell to dearie, who will explore San Francisco on her own today. I went to check out the posters first, where it was already swarming with people.

After that, I went to listen to a talk by my previous supervisor. As usual, his talks are very insightful, personalized and easy to understand. I did not eat lunch. I spent the time talking to a few students and post-docs. I met dearie later in the day and went around looking for a cheap and nice place for dinner. However, nearly every restaurant was crowded. We settled for a ramen shop, which was decent at best. We bought breakfast for next morning and headed back to the hotel to rest.

10 December 2019, San Francisco, Cloudy and rain.

I had to wake up early today so as to bring posters to my friend Ruby. Ate a simple breakfast in the hotel and left for the conference center. I spent the whole morning in the poster hall talking to people regarding their work, but I find that it is not as productive as I wanted. I then met up with dearie and we traveled to have our lunch at In-n-out burger. Their burgers are much better and we were stuffing our faces to our heart's content. After lunch, we walked towards Lombard Street, the must curvy road ever. Sure, it was curvy, but I was unable to get a nice picture of the curvy road simply because I could not get high enough for a nice vantage point. Drones would be a necessity. We then made our way to Fisherman's Wharf, passing by the cable car u-turn point, which was pretty interesting. Nearby the wharf, we found a decent souvenir shop along the way.

At fisherman's wharf, we noted how expensive the food was. We explored a little bit and found a battleship and submarine used in World War 2. Beside them was a vintage arcade that actually works! Here is a place where we can learn about the culture of the Californians in the past, through their old form of entertainment and iconic figures. We then continued on towards Pier 39. We could hear the sea lions shouting from far away. There were really many of them, all on floating platforms, out of the cold water. I believe they were hugging together to get warmth. We enjoyed some sea views there before going inside the Pier. Here, the main attraction was of course, the large Carousel. In the distance, a poor street performer was waiting for his audience count to be more than zero before he could start to perform anything. We decided to sit down to have a taste of their famous clam chowder. It's actually not that great. I find that sourdough bread does not complement the flavour of the chowder. After at least warming our stomachs, we went out to have a walk again. We walked back to Fisherman's Wharf, but I was reluctant to spend so much money on seafood. It started to rain lightly while we were hunting for a dinner place. We got caught in the rain. We decided to stop by the souvenir shop again to buy some stuff, and then head back to In-n-out burger for dinner, simply because it is that awesome. After dinner, we bought some doughnuts as breakfasts for the next 2 days. Dearie became slightly sick, which made me really worried.

11 December 2019, San Francisco, Rain

It was actually a rather depressing day no matter how hard I tried to stay bright. At least dearie got better. We had the doughnuts for breakfast before going out to a Thai restaurant to warm our bellies with tom yum noodle lunch, comfort food in the rainy day. Our first stop was Baker beach. Since it was cold and rainy, there was nobody there. Dearie took out her umbrella and we started our hike from Baker beach to the Golden Gate bridge. Although it wasn't a pleasant hike, I tried my best to take nice pictures. We finally reached the bridge, but could not see much. We entered the visitor centre and she bought a souvenir. We then took a bus to the Palace of Fine Arts. In the rain, the picture is a little gloomy, but still nice nonetheless.

After walking one round around this place, we took a bus back to the hotel for dinner. We stopped by Ghiradelli Square, hoping to find a decent place for dinner. We instead found a nice place for pictures and I took a few lovely portrait pictures for dearie. A staff from Ghiradelli gave us a sampler of their new peppermint bark flavoured chocolate, and dearie was hooked. Soon, we took a bus back to Chinatown, where we had another round of comforting Asian food.

12 December 2019, San Francisco, Cloudy

Breakfast was the same doughnuts. I went to Moscone centre in the morning to look at the posters while dearie travelled to Berkeley to find her friend. I skipped lunch and went to listen to many talks regarding secondary organic aerosols, and I learnt quite a lot from the other experts. I also talked to a few scientists regarding their work. It was nice to interact with them. At some point, I was too hungry, so I went to grab a burrito from Chipotle, and it was quite nice. I organised a small gathering of all the past students of my department, but however, only five people were available, how sad! Nevertheless, we went ahead with the dinner, which turned out to be pleasant because I get to see one of my seniors again. No pictures today, however.

13 December 2019, San Francisco, Cloudy

I woke up early to go and set up my poster. The poster session turned out to be extremely useful. I received a lot of comments and useful feedback. I am very thankful that I did a poster for this AGU when my work is not solid yet. It was a very rewarding morning. Lunch was brought to me by my lovely dearie, and we ate at a park above a building. It was a very heart-warming lunch indeed. After that, I went back to continue with the conference. Dinner was together with my research group at Cheesecake Factory. It was a very light-hearted meal, al-fresco style with some beautiful views of the city.

I was also happy to meet with Danny again, this time with his new girlfriend. The rain came in when we were about to finish eating, forcing us to leave. After dinner, we walked about and shopped for a while before going back to the hotel to rest for tomorrow, which we planned to be a very tiring day.

14 December 2019, San Francisco, Clear

As if magic, the skies cleared up today and we woke up to a clear morning. We ate a simple breakfast in our hotel room and then met up with my colleagues before setting off for Golden Gate bridge. Since it was early, there were not many people. We took many awesome pictures.

Keeping up with the happy mood, we hiked down to Marshall beach, where we got more awesome pictures. I went out alone to a spot near to the water for a different vantage of the bridge, took a picture, and then we headed back to the visitor centre. With many pictures in our cameras, we went back into the downtown area. There, we met up with dearie's friend Katherine, who will travel with us for the rest of the day, but not before a nice brunch. We ate a very local American brunch. Dearie had salmon scrambled eggs while Katherine and I had their famous burger. It was really hearty. After that, we took a cab across the bridge into Marin headlands, where we started the second hike. We started from the side that faces Golden Gate bridge and walked west, towards the sunset. This hike was exceptionally beautiful. In fact, the cover photo for this post was taken here. I really have to thank Katherine for showing us the beautiful views. We ended our hike at the visitor centre nearby. Finding transport out here proved to be difficult because there was no reception on our phones. Luckily, with the help of a hostel, we managed to get wifi, and then a ride to Sausalito. By the time we reached Sausalito, the sun went down. We walked around Sausalito for a while, exploring it whilst trying to find a decent dinner spot. In the end, we took away some pizza and went to see their annual lighted boat festival. This festival is interesting. The locals here will string up their own boats with lights and then drive them around the pier. It was a beautiful sight to behold. It rained slightly, but that did not stop our curious hearts to see how it looks like. We ate the pizza while watching the boats. We knew there was fireworks too, but decided to play safe and chose to take the last ferry back, which was before the fireworks. However, to our surprise, the fireworks started when the ferry was about to leave! We stood on the upper deck of the ferry and enjoyed the fireworks display. Soon, the fireworks ended and the ferry started moving off towards San Francisco. Back in San Francisco, we looked for coffee, but the one that Katherine wanted to introduce to me was closed, so we just left. We sent her to the bus that would take her back to Berkeley before finding our way back to the hotel. What an amazing day it was!

15 December 2019, San Francisco > Las Vegas, Clear

It is time to say goodbye to San Francisco. We woke up early again today to join in a tour group bus. Some of my friends from my department were also with us in this four day group tour. When everyone arrived, the bus started and left San Francisco via the Oakland bridge. The lunch stop was at a chinese buffet. The first one was nice because they had nice fresh prawns and snow crab legs. There was also another stop before heading into Vegas. We slept for most of the eight hour journey towards Las Vegas. We finally arrived at about 7 PM. After checking into the hotel, we went out to explore Las Vegas on our own.

After some pictures, we had our dinner in Shake Shack. It was an uneventful day dedicated to travelling to Las Vegas. We had a good rest in a nice hotel, Park MGM hotel.

16 December 2019, Las Vegas > Page, Clear

We got on the tour bus and left Vegas early in the morning because it is going to be another long travel before we actually reach the Canyon. Our first stop is at an IMAX theatre in Tusayan, screening a rather old video regarding the history and significance of Grand Canyon. It was not that great. Lunch was at the same place, before the show was screened. The interesting thing for us is the fallen snow outside of the theatre. We took a few nice pictures with the snow. After that, the bus took us to Grand Canyon south rim, where we took some awesome pictures. Since it was winter, it was pretty cold. After we are done with south rim, we went back to the bus for a snowy drive towards the east rim. I find that the east rim is nicer, because there is a watchtower, and we can actually see Colorado river from the east rim.

Dearie and I took many pictures with the fallen snow. She was really happy that she got to see snow here. The sun soon set. With less and less light, available, we made our way back to the bus, which took us to our dinner spot. Dinner was another chinese buffet place. The style was very similar to the one from the day before, minus the seafood. After dinner, the bus took us to Page, where we stayed in Best Western Page hotel.

17 December 2019, Page > Las Vegas, Clear

This day was perhaps the best day in this US trip. We woke up really early again, but it was worth it. The first stop was Horseshoe bend since it was nearby. It required us to walk for about 15 minutes from the nearest car park. When I was almost there, the excitement overtook the cold. I ran towards the viewing point, and man, it was stunning. The horseshoe bend is huge, too large for my wide angle lens even. I could not capture the sides of the canyon.

One amazing thing is that we reached the place right before sunrise. We saw how the mountains in the horizon slowly got lit up by the sun. The lit area slowly creeps towards us. It was beautiful in real life, but I found the lit area to be a distraction in my picture composition. The next place on the list is the Lower Antelope Canyon tour. This place is simply breath-taking. The remarkable beauty of nature. Sedimentary rocks carved out by wind and water form this amazing landform.

Our lovely Nevajo guide took many pictures for us. In the tour, there was one low rock, so I told dearie to be careful of her head, only to realize later that she can walk right under the rock, just nice, without hitting her head! Perhaps being short has its advantages after all. The amazing morning did not end after this tour! Next, we went for the Lake Powell/Antelope Canyon tour. This was also another extremely beautiful tour. The water in the lake is melt water from nearby mountains, meaning it is a freshwater lake. The lake is a still, clear blue. The sky was also blue. Antelope Island was reddish. Together, it makes for an amazing boat tour.

What an amazing morning it was! Lunch was the Chinese buffet again. At this point in time, we were really sick of those cooked-in-bulk food. We then began the long journey back to Vegas. In Vegas, we went out by ourselves again to explore, round 2, but we were really tired. We had Taco Bell for dinner before we went to catch the fountain and light show at Fountains of Bellagio. We walked around and explored the famous casinos. The design of some of the casinos were the same as the ones in Macau, since they were made under the same 'brand'. Soon, we were overcame by fatigue and have to go back to rest.

18 December 2019, Las Vegas > Los Angeles, Cloudy 

We woke up early in the morning again. I bought peppermint mocha and enjoyed it with dearie before we went up the bus. The first stop is the Ethel M chocolate factory and the cactus garden beside it. We first took some pictures in the cactus garden. This cactus garden is also the home of native species of some Nevada cacti.

We then went into the chocolate factory. There was a nice guy giving out fresh chocolate samples. They were nice, but were priced out of our range, so we did not buy any. The bus then took us to a brunch place. It is going to be the chinese buffet again, and by this time, we were really sick of that food, so we decided not to do it, and instead, we walked elsewhere to find Wendy's. After brunch, the bus took us to Barstow, where we did our first Outlet shopping spree. It was productive for dearie. She bought quite a number of Kipling bags and wallets. The next leg of the bus trip felt extremely long. The bus was supposed to take us to Los Angeles airport, but it waited for very long in Los Angeles downtown. When we finally reached the airport, we were really hungry. After some exploration, I found a dinner spot in the airport and the six of us ate our dinner. Dearie and I had rice bowl. After that, we tried to find the pick-up point of the shuttle bus to Hilton hotel. Since the traffic was very bad, the bus took quite a while before it finally arrived. We finally checked into Hilton hotel. Dearie, Ruby and I went out to get Carl's Junior burger for supper before finally settling down to rest. 

19 December 2019, Los Angeles, Clear

We were really very lucky with the weather because every time we want to go out, it would be clear and sunny. We had Carl's junior burger for breakfast and then took lyft to Griffith's Observatory. Upon arrival, we saw the legendary Hollywood sign on a hill. That lifted up our spirits. We took pictures with the hill as a back drop, very touristy in style. We spent a long time at the observatory, exploring both the interior and the exterior. It was kinda like a museum where we learn a few things about astrology and physics. It was also possible to have a look at the telescope. In the end, we had our lunch there. We just had a very simple mac and cheese with brussel sprouts. Dearie somehow liked it a lot. We then took a lyft down the hill to Hollywood walk of fame for a quick stop. The streets were really crowded. There are a few people who dressed up as characters from Avengers and will try to take pictures with you, for tips, of course. We took some pictures of the stars on the floor before taking lyft again to Santa Monica beach to catch the sunset.

The sunset here was indeed royal. We spent quite some time here at the Santa Monica Pier, enjoying the beautiful moment. Dearie tried to take a time lapse, but it did not go well. Also, she said that those one-line horizon photos are not great. I actually thought they were fine, but oh well. When the sun went down, we went to have a quick look at the fair. It is just like Pier 39 in San Francisco, except bigger, complete with a roller coaster and a ferris wheel. We walked a bit to find a Thai place for dinner. It was really worth the walk. The waitress was very nice, and their tom yum was really good, even nicer than the one we had at San Francisco, so the dinner really made us very happy. Having our stomachs filled with warm soup, we went back into the cold to wait for a bus that will take us back to Hilton hotel, thus ending our simple Los Angeles exploration day.

20 December 2019, Los Angeles > Taipei, Clear

The last day of our trip in the US was spent mostly shopping at Outlet for things that cost cheaper in the US. After checking out and depositing our luggages at the hotel, we took lyft to Citadel Outlets, where we had our brunch. This driver was nice and kept chatting with me. At Outlets, we shopped for about two hours before deciding we were too tired, so we grabbed coffee and continued shopping. Dearie bought more bags from Kipling, and some wallets from Coach and Kate Spade. They were all heavily discounted, so hopefully, they were good buys.

When even the Outlet itself is a present box, it probably means that it is a present for the buyers too. When the sun was about to set, we took a lyft to a Walmart along the way in hopes of sending post cards and buying more cheap stuff. In the end, it did not work out. We bought subway there for dinner and continued back to the hotel. Thankfully, we were able to get stamps from the gift shop in the hotel, enabling us to send our post cards! We tried so hard to find solutions, when in reality it was actually simpler than we thought. After we took back our luggage, we waited for the shuttle bus to the airport. Although the trip to the airport was really short, the whole journey of trying to get to the airport took us one whole hour. We spent about 40 minutes waiting for the bus, which then sent us to a state of panic. Thankfully, we still arrived at the airport on time for our flight. We rushed to check in, and realized that we still have a little bit of time for souvenir shopping. There was even a flight delay. But soon, we were on our way back to Hong Kong, transiting at Taiwan first. Dinner was served very late. We were so sleepy that we didn't bother to order any extra alcohol.

22 December 2019, Taipei > Hong Kong, Clear

The long flight back to Taiwan also meant that 21st December basically vanished, so I decided not to write anything for that day. I however decided to include this day because there was still something to share. Since the flight from Los Angeles was delayed, we became late for the next flight to Hong Kong. It was past boarding time when we got off the plane, so we thought we would just be assigned to the next flight. However, the staff on the ground told us to run to the next flight, it was waiting for us. So, we went through some quick security scans and ran towards our next flight. It was super tiring for us. The EVA air staff changed at every leg of the run, but we had to run the entire route. Fortunately for the girls, there was an airport buggy that took them to the gate. When we boarded the gate, to our surprise, it was mostly empty.

After the plane took off, we ordered some strong liquor to cool off our nerves. Soon, we landed back in Hong Kong. When we collected our luggage, dearie noticed that my luggage sustained a lot of damages, and the wheel almost came off. We later found out that my friends' luggages were damaged to different extents as well, and concluded that the damage must have been sustained at Los Angeles airport when everything was in a rush. I wonder if that was what the delay was about. Anyway, this finally concludes our two week long trip of Southwestern America. Coming up next pretty soon is Australia, where I will attend a friend's wedding while travelling with dearie. Until the next trip!

Takamatsu, Japan

Although Takamatsu is a small city, it is unique in the sense that it is a place where tourists would not go. Thanks to 14th IGAC Meeting, I was able to come and visit this small and interesting city of Japan. With my favourite cuisine and beautiful gardens, my first experience in Japan was lovely.

23 September 2018, Hong Kong > Takamatsu, Cloudy

I woke up very early in the morning and travelled to the airport to catch my flight to Takamatsu. Since the time in Japan is an hour faster, the time today is only 23 hours. After a smooth four hour flight, I found myself in Japan, for the first time. I was able to figure out the transport and arrived in my hotel fast and smooth. After checking in and placing down my luggage, I began to explore the immediate surroundings around my hotel. I found a ramen shop (which also turned out to be the favourite ramen in my trip) nearby. Although they use chicken bones to make the broth, it was still very delicious and I enjoyed my first dinner here. After dinner, I walked around the area to find a large supermarket. I spent about an hour walking around because the supermarket is filled with very interesting Japanese goods. It was nightfall when I am done.

24 September 2018, Takamatsu, Cloudy

I began my day with a western breakfast. I then ventured into the unknown. I took the JR train to Yashima. I relied on google maps and walked towards Shikoku Mura. It was a refreshing walk because the Japanese streets are quite unique. Soon, I found myself at the bottom of the Yashima mountain. There is also a shrine at the side, so I decided to go to the shrine first. The shrine requires us to climb some stairs. I climbed up to the top, and when I looked back, the view of Takamatsu was not bad. I was supposed to wash myself with the well water to cleanse myself before going near the shrine, but I did not know that at that time. After that, I entered Shikoku Mura. Shikoku Mura features the old style Japanese architecture. After entering the paid area, you'll be greeted with a vine bridge, which you can walk around if you are a faint-heart. Crossing the vine bridge is quite scary since the gaps between the logs are quite big, and the centre of it brings you dangerously close to the surface of the water. I spent about two hours wandering around, discovering ancient Japanese methods of making paper, soy sauce, fishing, etc. I was pretty hungry by the time I am done, so I ate at the udon shop nearby. I got the cold udon with soy sauce dip. It is very refreshing. After lunch, I took the bus to the top of Yashima mountain. There, I explored the flat top peak. I entered the Yashima temple area first. Although the weather is bad, it was still beautiful. I can't help but notice that there is a paid entry museum, but nobody is going in. I left the compound and passed by some souvenir shops before reaching the viewing area of the Yashima mountain. Here, there is a tradition of throwing clay discs off the mountain for good luck. It represents the victory of the Minamoto warriors after they defeat the Taira. I did not throw any clay discs, but the view of Takamatsu from here is quite spectacular. I moved on, walking past an aquarium, and finally back to the bus bay. I began walking another round, when I realized I did not take raw pictures of the view of Takamatsu. This time, I walked a different route and discovered something that I did not find previously, the ruins of Yashima castle, so I decided to look for it. It was pretty okay. I then walked back and get my picture of Takamatsu from Yashima mountain. Majestic. It is one of the must see views of Japan. Cloudy day kinda makes it less impressive though.

I then took the bus back down and headed towards Kawaramachi, where I found a sushi place for dinner. The sushi from Japan is simply delicious. I ate it the correct way, because the sushi chef pressed it well and the fish really would not come off when you invert it. This ended my day and made me really happy.

25 September 2018, Takamatsu, Cloudy

Today is the beginning of the ICACGP and IGAC meeting. I began my day with a traditional Japanese breakfast. They have such a big meal for breakfast, complete with rice. Being a good early career scientist, I basically sit through all the talks. The lunch was disappointing because there was none left for us. People from my department just ended up walking to the supermarket nearby to buy our own lunch. My previous supervisor's student gave a talk in the afternoon, and I talked to him after his talk. Our dinner was at a more expensive sushi place. The uni here is really very nice.

26 September 2018, Takamatsu, Cloudy

Today was a full day at the conference. Breakfast was the full Japanese breakfast again. The professor from my department have a talk today. Lunch was better. I managed to get some food despite staying back to attend the soft skill course for early career scientists. The poster session was very good. I walked around and talked to many people, asking about their project and also learning about some knowledge that actually helps my research. Poster sessions is always a favourite activity of mine in a conference. There is a wealth of knowledge to be learnt by talking to the presenters. We went out with a Japanese professor and his student from Taiwan for dinner. They are actually from Earth Observatory Singapore. I had a good time getting to know them and talking to them over dinner. We had some drinks too.

27 September 2018, Takamatsu, Partly Cloudy

I had breakfast at the same place again. Today was really productive at the conference although it was a half day. Some of the talks were really interesting and beneficial to my research. Talks include biogenic emissions and biomass burning emissions. I managed to talk to Alex Guenther. We went to a very local udon shop for lunch, and it was perhaps the nicest udon I ever had. We then walked to Ritsurin garden, the tourist attraction that Takamatsu is most well known for. We began the tour by taking the boat. It was a small boat that only had four passengers. The guide spoke Japanese with the Japanese passenger, teaching him things about the garden. We however did not understand a thing. It was really a lovely boat ride though.

After the boat ride, we began exploring the garden on foot. It was really a refreshing walk in the park. We repeatedly ran into scientists from the conference. There were a few small buildings which had exhibits in them. There was a house that was showing the history of udon making. There was also one with wood handicrafting. There is a small garden where they actually use a broom to sweep the little stones into linear patterns. It was really unique and pretty. I went back and got the iconic picture of Ritsurin garden, which is also the cover photo of this post. This cover photo is appropriate given that Takamatsu is the most famous of this garden. In fact, if you google Takamatsu, this is the picture that you will see. Dinner was banquet style at Clement hotel. Unfortunately, I was late and missed the performance by one of the local school. I had difficulty trying to get a seat since most people were already seated with people they are comfortable with. I got a seat with people I have never met before. I talked with them, which was nice. The food was decent, the fish course was really good. Our table was not seated fully, but the waitresses still continued to serve food. They must have been ordered to do so in case anyone joins in late, they would still have all the courses. Japanese hospitality at its finest. After the meal, as I was walking around the area, the principal of the school approached me and gave me his name card. I felt strange, but I accepted his name card graciously and tried to talk to him politely. I was even pulled into the performing group's group photo. It was strange, but people were slightly drunk (maybe) and I just played along. I later found out that the Japanese treats their name card like an extension of oneself, so we have to treat the card with respect. Luckily I did! I just found it interesting as to why an important person such as this principal would give me an item so important to him. The banquet was really generous with the whiskey. When my friend and I asked for whiskey, the bartender gave us a glass with about 3 shots in it! I drank it slowly. When people started dancing, I left the place and went back to my hotel to rest.

28 September 2018, Takamatsu, Clear
It was a big day today as I have my presentation. I was nervous for the entire morning and noon. I skipped the talks in the morning so that I could rehearse for my talk in my room. The weather was lovely.

The two tallest buildings in Takamatsu, with the clear blue sky, greeted me as I left my hotel and walked towards the convention centre. There was a lunch with established scientists session, and I was assigned to table 24. When I got to the lunch tent, there was no table label and I had no idea which was table 24. I had no appetite anyway, so I decided to go to the auditorium early and rehearse for my talk one last time. At about three, it was finally my turn to speak. I was glad that I delivered all the content slowly and nicely, in a very calm manner. My nervousness somehow did not get the better of me. It was a nice talk and many people liked it. Some people came and talk to me after the session ended, telling me how they liked the style of my presentation. I was glad that I was able to speak in a way that made many people understand my work. Poster session 2 began shortly. As I was walking around the posters, random people will come along and say 'hey, you're the one that spoke just now, nice talk!'. These comments are really reassuring to hear. Poster session 2 turned out to be really nice and helpful as well. I met my lecturer from NUS. She did not recognize me, but from my expression, she knew I recognized her. We caught up a little bit about my undergraduate department. Finally, the day ended, and I was so relieved and tired at the end of today's conference. We had dinner at a random shop. I had some alcohol to relax after a stressful day.

29 September 2018, Takamatsu, Rain

As Typhoon Trami comes closer and closer, the weather deteriorated. Winds started picking up even today. The morning session of the conference went by fast, and the closing ceremony followed. I did not win the early career scientist award, but it was still good because I still got the chance to speak to an international audience about my work, and now, many people know me. This is perhaps the greatest takeaway for me attending this conference. I had ramen for lunch and began stocking up food for the typhoon that will arrive tomorrow. I spent my afternoon in the hotel since it was already raining slightly. Dinner was at the same sushi restaurant that I had after the day I explored Yashima mountain. This time, I did not try to save money. I ordered all the sushi that I liked and enjoyed one of the best meals that I had in Japan, with the benefit of being alone. The sushi chef made all the sushi in front of me.

Although there was no words exchanged, there was some eye contact and interaction. He was happy that I liked the sushi. The person sitting next to me ordered the soy pepper wings, which tempted me to do the same. It was quite good too. I was so full after this meal, but it was really satisfying.

30 September 2018, Takamatsu, Typhoon

For the first time ever in my travel blogs, I have this weather, haha. I had to extend my hotel stay by 1 day since the flight back to Hong Kong has been rescheduled. I basically spent the entire day in the hotel, and it was really quite sad. The only time I went out was in the morning, for my breakfast. Lunch and dinner was instant noodles. I also ate a few snacks then and now. I tried to do some work, but the internet was not good. Totally unproductive day, both in terms of work and travel. The typhoon winds continued throughout the night although the rain has stopped.

1 October 2018, Takamatsu > Hong Kong, Clear

After the storm has passed, it is time to head back to Hong Kong. Weather turned surprisingly good and Takamatsu appears to be barely scratched by the typhoon. The bus to get to the airport has a very strange schedule and I had to wait for two hours for the next bus after I check out from my hotel. Determined not to waste time sitting at the bus stop, I decided to make good use of the nice weather to explore and take good pictures of Tamamo Park, a small park right next to the CBD. I had to carry my luggage while walking around the park, but nevertheless, I made quick work of the park. The park contains ruins of Takamatsu castle. From the main ruins, the view is not bad. At one of the corners of the park, a watch tower still stands.

I really like this picture. I then went back to the bus stop and the bus arrived on schedule, bringing me to the airport to catch my rescheduled flight back to Hong Kong. I felt a little sad as I left Japan. The food and the culture here made me really like this country. I guess I would be back in Japan at some point later in my life, with my dearie, to another region of Japan. Till next time, I guess.

Istanbul

Credits go to Turkish Airlines for providing us with this free walking tour of Istanbul. Very adequately named, the Touristanbul brought us around the city, allowing us to have a sneak peek of what Istanbul has to offer.

14 July 2018, Rome > Istanbul, Sunny

After a short flight, we landed in Istanbul Ataturk airport early. We immediately went to clear the customs as we really want to do the Touristanbul. Fortunately, we made it for the 4PM to 9PM tour. We waited at the Starbucks until the tour began. We got up a bus, which took us into the city. Our tour guide joined us on the bus and immediately started to introduce the city to us. I fell asleep on the bus ride there as I was so tired. We started our walking tour somewhere near the Blue Mosque. Our first stop was the Sultanahmet Square. Here, there were three pillars: Walled Obelisk, Serpent Column and the Obelisk of Theodosius. It was quite interesting because the obelisks were carved with hieroglyphics, something that looks like it came straight out of a game. Interestingly, the base of the Obelisk of Theodosius is made from a different material, and is intricately carved. They most probably belong to two different eras, and the Obelisk was mounted into the base later on. The next stop was the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia.

Hagia Sophia is very huge. It's too bad that since it is a short tour, we could not go inside to look at the exhibits. Our next stop was the Grand Bazaar. According to the guide, there are thousands of shops inside the Bazaar. We walked inside just to get some pictures, and then got out. There was not a lot of time to explore, and we are worried about getting lost inside, so we did not venture too much. The guide then brought us to our dinner place. We were very pleased to find out that the dinner was at a local five star hotel, and was provided free of charge as part of the tour. They served a three course meal. Appetizer was tomato soup and a kind of cheesy snack, the main was chicken and rice, and the dessert was lokma, fried dough dipped in syrup. We were very happy with the dinner. Afterwards, we were led back to the bus and the bus took us back to the airport. We were surprised that we needed to go through a bag check before even entering the airport. Worse, after we entered, we did not recognize the place since the departure hall and the arrival hall was really different. After walking about, we found the same Starbucks and went there to chill until about midnight, and that was when we entered the gates to go to the boarding area for our flight back to Singapore.

15 July 2018, Istanbul > Singapore, Partly Cloudy

We boarded the plane at about 1 AM. This was the first time I am having a long flight with dearie. We played some solitaire together after the plane took off. After we ate, we just kept sleeping until it was time to eat again. Soon, our plane reached Singapore and we landed safely. This was the end of our long tour in Europe. We felt extremely thankful that throughout our trip, we packed our itinerary with many things to see, but yet found time to rest when we were really tired. Everything went according to plan and we were never mugged or have our important items stolen. Many memories were created in this 17 day (excludes flying days) trip, and they will probably stay with us forever. If they don't, I always have these blog posts and our pictures to refer back to from time to time. We also came back safe and sound, albeit with lots of itchy mosquito bites from Italy, and have many exciting tales to share with our families and friends.