Rambles in the Wild

Northern Taiwan Excursion 2011

2011-12-22T15:30:00.003+08:00

Snow Mountain, Taiwan 2011 - Failed Attempt

2011-12-22T15:30:00.000+08:00

Gunung Belumut - 22 Oct 2011

2011-10-31T16:55:00.001+08:00

Gunung Datuk - 24 Sep 2011

2011-10-04T11:11:00.002+08:00

Highest Point - 870m Location - Rembau, Negri Sembilan, Peninsula Malaysia Meeting point is at Marsiling MRT Station. Two staff from AQ, Pauline and Am leading eight of us for this trek. The participants for this training session have three different objectives. Four of us are using this as a training for the trek to Snow Mountain, one is using it as a training for his Mount KK expedition. And

Trekking 2011 - Prologue

2011-09-28T14:03:00.000+08:00

After scaling Mt Kota Kinabalu - Mount KK (4,092m) two years ago, the addiction to mountain climbing is still there. The preparation works, the training and the sense of personal satisfaction that come with height-scaling are very different from job satisfaction and other life experiences. Year 2010 witnessed the birth of our precious daughter and her growing milestones. Year 2011 is for the

Penang Trip - Aug 2011

2011-09-07T15:58:00.000+08:00

I wanted desperately a getaway. Anywhere!!! So we chose Penang, Malaysia. It near to SIN, its not a big place to navigate. The expenses should be quite affordable. KC helping with the luaggages Depart on 6th Aug morning on a afternoon flight, we (LH, KC and I) reached Penang Airport at 1500hrs. Took a cab from airport to Traders Hotel in Georgetown that costs us RM45. Room in Traders

Durian Day Trip - July 2011

2011-09-07T15:39:00.002+08:00

Its the Durian Season!!! We took the opportunity to let Keila try out coach ride. Hence, we booked ourselves day trip to Johore for Durian Feasting. Organised by Exclusive Tours. Met the rest of the participants at Square Two. Five coaches departed for Tuas Immigration at 0715. Cleared immigration speedily and had our breakfast at a local coffeeshop Then off to an organic farm for some

Tanjong Pagar KTM Railway Station - Kluang

2011-05-31T17:05:00.003+08:00

Following an agreement between the governments of Malaysia and Singapore which was reached on 24 May 2010, railway operations at station will permanently cease from 1 July 2011. Before Tanjong Pagar KTM Railway Station becomes a monument, we decided to bring baby K on her first train ride out from the soon-to-cease TP Rail Station . In the end, on the same date, 10 adults and a baby gathered at

Phuket Jan 2011 - Keila's First Flight

2011-03-22T17:10:00.002+08:00

This trip was planned since baby K was borned. It was meant to be a mini Chia family trip from day 1. LH and I have prior trips to Phuket before so we are pretty familiar with the island. The rest of the Chia family have not been to Phuket. Back in Jan Year 2009 where we had our last Phuket trip, we bought a vacation home at Laguna Holiday club. With the entittlement, we rented a villa

Road Trip to Cameron Highlands - Christmas 2010

2011-03-22T15:21:00.006+08:00

Before decided on the Melaka trip, LH and his buddies have decided on a road trip to Cameron Highlands for the Christmas weekend. Unlike Melaka which is a city and is very near to Singapore, Cameron is more than 10 hours drive from Singapore and besides it is a mountain route with no shopping centre. And worse of all, Cameron Highlands has cool/cold temperature. We packed more this round. While

Meleka with Keila - Her First Oversea Trip

2010-11-24T11:32:00.004+08:00

13 to 15 November 2010 Ah... We decided to have a road trip up to Malacca after laying low for the last 5 months. No itinerary for this trip - relax, shop and dine. Three cars, 6 adults, one toddler and one infant set off on a Sat early hours and began our road trip to Malacca. The drive to Melaka is only about three hours. We packed a duffel bag worth of baggage for K. We reached Melaka at

January 2010 - Bangkok & Korat, Thailand

2010-01-26T17:06:00.009+08:00

PRE-TRIP JANUARY 2010 Booked a pair of Bangkok tickets for January 2010 way back in April 2009, as the tickets were pretty cheap. Two weeks before departure, HB and I finally decided on the itinerary for this trip. We have planned to go to Northeast part of Thailand but due to its large terrain we will only be going to Nakhon Ratchasima, gateway to Northeast Thailand. DAY ONE Reached Changi

November 2009 - Kuching, East Malaysia

2010-01-26T17:05:00.012+08:00

Last Minute Travel Plan HB has a week break before he starts his new job, after considering budget and duration, we decided to go to Kuching, East Malaysia. After a hasty preparation, this is what our planned itinerary should be. Information are found from all sources from internet. SUGGESTED ITINERARY Day 1 - reach KCH at 12pm. - Pick up rental car from Airport and drive to Lundu (1.5hrs

October 2009 - Yogyakarta - City of Legends

2009-10-26T16:02:00.019+08:00

PRE- TRIP ARRANGEMENT HB had wanted to visit the ancient monument in Borobudur for many years since our visit to Ang Kor Wat. Back in Feb 2009 when Air Asia has newly launched their latest destination in Indonesia, Yogyakarta aka Jogja. I went into Air Asia website and wanted to find out how much would the air tickets cost to Jogja. Turn out, Air Asia has a newly launched price at SGD 65 per

Semakau Landfill Island 19 Sep 09

2009-09-22T16:20:00.010+08:00

Organised by Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. Returning to this what my Hb termed as Garbage Island after one and a half year later, we are delighted to find much of the condition remain unchanged and of course the same swamps of mozzies that greeted us when we are out of the forest.This is our third trip with RMBR to Semakau Island, we try to make Semakau Trip as a yearly pilgrimage to

Sentosa's Latest Attraction - Megazip.Parajump.ClimbMax

2009-09-14T17:25:00.011+08:00

MegazipThis is the latest adventure in town, located at Mount Imbiah, Sentosa.LH's company has organised a corporate event for staff and guests. We paid a corporate rate for the combo deals.The combo deals include two rounds of ClimbMax, one Parajump and one Megazip.We started off with the ClimbMax, there are three levels of ClimbMax, obstacle courses at three different heights. The three of us

Johor Go Kart

2009-09-14T17:23:00.009+08:00

Aug 22, 2009A convoy of four cars and a total group of 11 passengers met and proceeded to cross the causeway at 7am.Bak Kuk Teh for Breakfast.Second stop is horse riding, reached the place opposite a "Sultan Palace" on the right side of JB near coast to find that it has moved.So we went on to the Permas Go Kart venue in Plentong. We have to travel about 15 mins of dirt road before we reached the

Langkawi August 2009

2009-08-17T14:38:00.012+08:00

The original plan was to book a villa at Bintan Lagoon Resort using HB's staff benefit but this option was denied. HB wanted to take a break from work over the long weekend and so I started to look for some cheap getaway which cost is comparable to the Bintan getaway. I searched for all budget flights and in the end left with two choices that fit into our timing and budget comfortably.First - to

Johore Day Trip - Durian Feasting!

2009-07-13T16:38:00.013+08:00

It's the Durian season now...Had wanted to join the local day tours to Johore for the unlimited King of Fruits at one of the durian farms in Johore state for quite some time. However, timing and availability never met. This year managed to get a Saturday day trip organised by MaxPac Travel.The initial plan was to gather at Tampines MRT station for the coach. A last minute arrangement in the end

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah - June 2009

2009-06-19T14:58:00.016+08:00

Our much anticipated trip for the Year 2009 has to be this Kota Kinabalu trip. Not only that the preparation of this trip that took us a whole half year, it was the most satisfying and activities-packed trip to date. From my earlier post, I have mentioned that the preparation for this Kota Kinabalu trip includes numerous weekly training sessions at Bukit Timah Hill, one trekking to Mount Ophir as

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Pre Trip

2009-05-12T16:14:00.014+08:00

Way back in Dec 08, we have planned our Kota Kinabalu trip (KK) for departure in early June. Since late January 09, we have been climbing regularly on our highest hill, Bukit Timah Hill, almost every week, each training session lasts not more than three hours. About three weeks ago, we conquered Mount Ophir, summited at 1276m above sea level. We used 6 hours to reach the summit and another 4

Gunung Ledang aka Mount Ophir - Success!

2009-04-28T12:01:00.007+08:00

From my previous post, you would have understand the purpose of this Mt Ophir trip. 4 of our us (including the "not-so-well" cousin-in-law) went ahead to Gunung Ledang resort however Don will not be doing the trekking.The driver (Mr Lai) arrived at our block for an hour before we set off at 8pm for the Causewau custom. There was some delay at the Singapore Customs and by the time we cleared the

Mount Kota Kinabalu Pre-Trip - Gurung Ledang aka Mount Ophir on 25 Apr 09

2009-04-15T11:52:00.004+08:00

Wanted to have a new peak in my life, decided to try trekking and to "conquer" Mount Kota Kinabalu before I prepare myself for the next stage of my life. Managed to get a few good friends to join in this expedition and the group now stands at 12! Amazing right?! And to prepare ourselves for the upcoming Mount Kota Kinabalu expedition, we have been training hard on our 160 plus metres Bukit Timah

Thailand, Phuket - January 2009

2009-01-21T09:02:00.028+08:00

After five years and with a joint promotion from Silkair with Banyan Tree Phuket, decided to spend my birthday and our 3rd anniversary there.The joint promotion includesReturn flight tickets to Phuket2 nights stay at Deluxe VillaAirport transfer (both ways)60 minutes massage at Banyan Tree SpaThe basic package costs SGD per pax which we thought it's a good deal, so we extended our stay to six

Coming Up - Phuket in Jan 2009...

2008-12-22T11:49:00.006+08:00

Planned ItinearyDay One Arrives Phuket at 1920 hrs Airport Transfer to HotelDay Two Car Rental at 900B per day for a Suzuki Sporty via Adaman Car RentVisit Patong and other viewpointsSelf Drive to Patong to book John Gray and Similian Day Trips Dinner at Patong Food Alley – Bang-La road, small street before Soi Patong Resort Day Three Day trip to Similian Islands 0730 to 1630 include lunchDay

Malaysia Road Trip - Melaka Dec 2008

2008-12-17T11:13:00.007+08:00

Long weekend from the 8th Dec to 10th Dec. 8 pax in 2 cars drove up to Meleka on Dec 8th.We set off early on Sat morning, at 5.30am, but chose the wrong custom point. Went to Causeway instead of Tuas 2nd Link. In the end, was in the traffic jam for an hour before we passed Singapore Customs! We do not really understand why is our custom officers are slower than the counterparties. We are supposed

Kusu island Reefwalk - 13 Dec 08

2008-12-17T10:33:00.010+08:00

A disappointing trip as there was't much to see at the reefwalk. The spring tide is from 4.30pm onwards. Together with another 70 people or more, we left Marina South Pier and reached Kusu Island at 4.30pm.Usually we will visit the North Lagoon but that day we visited the South Lagoon instead. As usual lots of hermit and fiddler crabs found on the beach. As we walked towards the tidal area, we

Central Vietnam March 2008

2008-11-27T11:59:00.008+08:00

Organised by HB's cousin, during the March school holiday, around 18 of us set off for Danang on our first day. The flight has a transit stop at Siem Reap for around 15 mins before we continue to Danang International Airport. The airport was small and the baggage system is quite confusing. You will need to show all the checked in baggages labels before you are able to leave the airport.We have a

2007 Honeymoon - Italy - Venice, Verona, Milan

2008-11-27T11:55:00.005+08:00

Day 16 - Mestre - Venice Reached our hotel in the late evening and hurriedly find a pizzeria for dinner. The whole area has only this shop which serves the best pizza - Jungle Pizza - we ever had. Freshly made upon order, it has many varieties and allows add-ons. To say that we had their pizzas for dinner for the next three nights is no joke and it also says that their pizzas are that good.

2007 Honeymoon - Spain - Barcelona

2008-11-27T11:53:00.007+08:00

Day 13 - Malgrat De MarOur hotel - Aqua Hotel Bella Playa is located at the Malgrat De Mar, one of the many beaches along the Coast of Barcelona. It is about an hour's train ride from Malgrat de Mar to Barcelona City. The hotel stay is cheap at about USD 50 per room for a fullboard stay - meaning all meals included.We spent our first offical day at the Malgrat De Mar. It is a fairly nice beach

2007 Honeymoon - Italy - Naples, Florence, Pisa

2008-11-27T11:49:00.012+08:00

Day 9 - Ischia to NaplesThe next morning, we had a simple breakfast together with the owner at the Villa. He recommended us to go for a Thermal Bath for Ischia is famous for the thermal water from up the hill. We found our way to one of the popular Thermal Bath, again the place was desserted. It was closed but the staff was kind enough to let us have a dip at the thermal water pool - for free.

Semakau Intertidal Walk 23 Feb 2008

2008-02-26T14:40:00.005+08:00

The first trip to Semakau last March was enjoyable. This year, we revisited the landfill in hoping to see more interesting creatures.This is our group, Group Spider Conch, with Tiong Chin as our guideOur first find, a fairly large stingray but it has been dead for quite some time.Also found a few species of sea cucumbersA fan wormIronically we saw a man casted a fish net and trapped a few fishes

Kusu island Reefwalk - 08 Feb 08

2008-02-09T22:58:00.001+08:00

It's been quite a well since we last joined a reefwalk. Our last reefwalk was in June 2007 when the reefwalk was conducted in dawn and it was pouring heavily. It was not a very fruitful one.Yesterday's was quite alright but the tide was not at its lowest level. We saw many swimming crabs and even caught one pair mating...

2007 Honeymoon - Italy - Sorrento, Isle of Capri, Ischia

2007-10-10T06:43:00.016+08:00

Day 5 - Rome to SorrentoChecked out from Rome's B&B, took the Eurail train to Naples (2 hours) and took another train (1 hour) on Circumvesius line to reach our resort in Sorrento. Sorrento is a lovely place, quite serene not overly crowded. We took a while to look for our resort, Esperidi Resort. From its lobby, the resort looks like a posh, hip one until we were showed our "chalet". The chalet

2007 Honeymoon - Italy - Rome

2007-10-02T04:24:00.007+08:00

Day 1 - Sin --> Doha --> RomeAirline - Qatar AirwaysCost - approx $1400 + 4 nights accomodation + 3-day Eurail (Italy) PassDeparts from Singapore at 0710hrs on Qatar Airways.Reached Doha at 1400hrs (SIN). Waited three hours for our connecting flight to Rome. While we are in Doha, we ate at this A&W at its transit area. This A&W does not serve rootbeer but has burgers and fried chicken. Ordered a

Bintan March 2007

2007-03-26T11:19:00.001+08:00

Booked a villa at Nirwana Garden's Banyu Biru. No special agenda for this trip as it was meant to be a relax and leisure getaway. Well it turned out not as relax as I would have preferred... *sigh* Not many photos taken, just a few shots on the sunset and the beach creatures... Lesson to learn from this trip, Never to go Bintan during North-East Monsoon.you can find lotsa of hermit crabs, clams

Fish Spa @ Qian Hu Aquarium

2007-03-05T15:06:00.002+08:00

Inspired by a group of visiting students from Duke University, Ais Kachang, we decided to make a last minute dash to Qian Hu on Sunday to try out the fish spa.Don't get too excited upon the photos :PPainful? Hell no!!!But, You will have up to put with their "kisses" or nibbles and it can be very super duper ticklish (personal opinion)!!!! LH was alright with tickles. But I took almost 25 mins to

Intertidal Walk - Pulau Semakau Landfill, March 3rd, 3 to 8pm

2007-03-05T08:37:00.001+08:00

Two months after our last visit to Kusu Island for an intertidal walk, we are hooked! This time we went to Pulau Semakau Landfill. Singapore's offshore south-western island which is about 35 mins ferry ride from west coast pier. This intertidal walk was organised by Raffles Museum of BioDiversity Research. Location of Pulau SemakauAbout Pulau Semakau, taken from Wildsingapore.comHistory of

Reefwalk at Kusu Island, Singapore Southern Island

2007-01-23T23:07:00.001+08:00

We participated in the first reefwalk for the Year 2007 on the 20th Jan 2007, Saturday, organised by Bluewater Volunteers. We gathered at the Marina South Pier at 1600hrs, the chinese junk boat departs 15 mins later because of the late comers. :SDeparts from Marina South Pier to Kusu Island on this Chinese Junk BoatWeather of mainland from the boat - overcast weather of Southern Islands from the

New Year at Bangkok, Thailand

2007-01-02T21:09:00.001+08:00

Wanted a short getaway over the long holiday weekend. Usually it was pretty expensive to travel during this period. Nevertheless, managed to get a Friday evening flight to BKK for $214 (include taxes). Sounds pretty reasonable. And if we managed to find some cheap accomodation, the whole BKK trip during this super peak period may be a very reasonable getaway after all. So almost immediately, we

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 8 to 10 ~ SIEM REAP

2006-09-28T21:23:00.002+08:00

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 8 ~ SIEM REAPWe took a 0830hrs coach from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. By the time we reached Siem Reap, it was around 2pm.We have pre-arranged for another hotel, Golden Orange, to pick us up from the bus terminal.As mentioned, Siem Reap is a small town, there is not much things to do there, unless you want to join day tour to bring you outside Siem Reap. However with no much cash

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 7 ~ PHNOM PENH

2006-09-26T12:18:00.001+08:00

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 7 ~ PHNOM PENHWe started our day trip from 8 am. The van departed from the hotel and we were on our way to Chiso Mountain. It was around a 2 hours drive. Upon reaching the foot of the Chiso Mountain, we were swamped a group of 7 children. We tried to ignore them and started our hike up to the mountain by climbing 480 stairs. It was a tough job shaking these kids off as they

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 6 ~ PHNOM PENH

2006-09-26T09:40:00.001+08:00

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 6 ~ PHNOM PENH Woke up early that day, first thing was to call Reany Sey whether there would any bus to Sihanoukville. Answer was still no. *sigh* Hb was so disappointed!!! Anyway how, we had breakfast and began to explore the Capital much deeper.First stop to Phnom Penh's Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda. We walked 20mins from our hotel to this palace. Entrance fee was USD 3 for

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 5 ~ PHNOM PENH

2006-09-21T15:40:00.001+08:00

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 5 ~ PHNOM PENHMap of Phnom Penh0630hrs - Shuttle bus service provided by Mekong Express arrived to pick us up from Mandalay Inn. We parted the guesthouse hastity but thanks to Kat, he was helping us packing our breakfast. Reached the bus station in half hour's time.0730hrs - Coach departed from Siem Reap. On Mekong Express Bus, you are each provided with light refreshments and

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 4 ~ ANGKOR, SIEM REAP

2006-09-20T19:00:00.001+08:00

DAY 4 ~ ANGKOR, SIEM REAPMap of Angkor TemplesThe last day to use our three-day Angkor PassWe visited the following popular temples :-1. Lolei - Rulous Group2. Preah Ko - Rulous Group3. Bakong - Rulous Group Bakong - Rulous GroupWe also took 2 off-the-beaten path by visiting the Phnom Krom Phnom Krom on the shores of the Tonle Sap, 137 metres in height. Of the three monuments, the temple of

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 3 ~ ANGKOR, SIEM REAP

2006-09-20T17:48:00.001+08:00

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 3 ~ ANGKOR, SIEM REAPMap of Angkor TemplesIn the morning, we visited Prasat Kravan, Banteay Kdei, and Sras Srang.After which, Mr Sopheap took us to Banteay Srei , this temple is an hour away from Siem Reap town.Along the way back to Siem Reap, we took a detour to Banteay Samre.Back from Banteay Samre, we continued with East Meabon, Ta Som, Neak Pean and our last temple of

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 2 ~ ANGKOR, SIEM REAP

2006-09-20T16:30:00.001+08:00

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 2 ~ ANGKOR, SIEM REAPMap of Angkor Temples0400 hrs - Woke up and get ready to set off to Angkor Wat to catch Sunrise.0500 hrs - Tuk-Tuk driver (Mr Sopheap) waited for us at the guesthouse entrance. Guesthouse staff, Kat, has already prepared our breakfast - baguette & drinking water.0530 hrs - Sunrise @ Angkor Wat. It was a cloudy morning and a bit overcast. 0800 hrs to 1800

Cambodia 2006 : DAY 1 ~ SIN --> REP

2006-09-20T14:43:00.002+08:00

DAY 1 ~ SIN --> REPThe day has come at last. Reached Changi Airport T1 at 5am, we were surprised to see that a queue was already formed at the check-in counter. We requested for windows at the emergency exits. This is our first flight experience with Jetstar Asia - a budget air with seat allocation but no meals provided onboard. We had previously flown on the other budget airlines, namely

Cambodia 2006 : Pre-Trip

2006-09-19T16:35:00.002+08:00

One Month before DepartureThis Cambodia trip was planned within a short time frame, to be exact in less than 4 weeks. My hb has a change of job and I need to clear block leave, making use of this "excuse", we decide to go for a cheap getaway. A place where we never been and yet comfortable on our pocket. With a newly renovated flat on hand, we are tight on budget.Our initial plan was to go