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Strait of Malacca - Rock Climbing Out At Sea

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Modern day cruise ships are huge behemoths where almost anything imaginable can be found onboard.  After having been on several cruises already, I am beginning to believe that even on cruises with no or very few port days, I will still not run out of things to do onboard. After all, it is really difficult for one to get bored on a huge cruise ship that can span a couple of hundreds of metres or more, from bow to stern. Even on days when I may feel a bit on the introvert side, I can always find a relatively serene corner to read or write, a warm beverage in-hand. There will also almost always be a gym for me to work out, swimming pools to get some tan, a dance hall to enjoy music and a dance or two, lots of food for the glutton in me, spectacular shows for entertainment, even a promenade to shop or window shop, my room balcony to look out at the sea and contemplate life and more. Of course, there is also the opportunity to meet people and make new friends. While on a cruise that was sai
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Random Thoughts - Getting My Travel Dates Wrong

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For someone who plan and book my own travels every time, I still find it surprising how I can still make the most basic of mistakes; getting the travel dates in my itinerary all mixed up. Yesterday, I decided to book my accommodation for my trip to Hong Kong in April 2025. I had already been booked on a 5-night cruise that will sail from Singapore to Hong Kong, scheduled to depart on 16th April. However, foolish me happily believed that since it is going to be a 5-night cruise, I will arrive in Hong Kong on 20th April. Nope, its 5-nights and not 5-days. This means I will only arrive in Hong Kong on 21st April. Before this realisation, I had happily booked my accommodation from the 20th April onwards instead of from the 21st onwards. Fortunately, I had chosen the higher-priced package that allows me to modify or cancel without penalty. Otherwise, it will be money down the drain. This mistake had also happened just 2 months prior when I was booking my airline ticket to another destinatio
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Travel Bits: October 2024

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Getting Ready for My Trip......  Exactly three weeks from now, I will be at the airport to board the flight for my vacation to Japan. Settled my pet's boarding arrangement and now planning how to ensure my plants stay hydrated while I'm away for almost two whole weeks. Trip accommodations have also been booked and paid, except for one which will be automatically paid before I commence the trip. No necessity to change currency because I still have lots of Japanese Yen left over from the previous trips and I will mostly be using credit cards to pay for my trip expenses. But if the currency exchange rate is in my favour, I will probably change some Japanese Yen to average down from the previous exchange rates of Yen vs SGD (Singapore Dollar) from two years ago.  Work-wise, I have completed most of my more urgent work tasks, well within the scheduled timelines. No hiccups there so everything seems in order, at least for now. My trip itinerary is rather flexible, as is my travel sty
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Bucket List: Pokémon World Championship 2023

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Japan,  Yokohama Chancing upon an event featuring one's favourite franchise characters of all time definitely qualifies as a Travel Bucket List item. At least in my opinion! This was what happened to me when I arrived in Yokohama in August 2023 to discover myself in the midst of the  Pokémon World Championship 2023. Needless to say, I quickly immersed myself into the  festival-like atmosphere of the event. It was such a joy joining leagues of Pokémon fans worldwide to celebrate  Pokémon World Championship. The original article was posted on this blog in November 2023. ⛰ ****************** How often does anyone chanced upon a major event featuring one's personal hobby while traveling? I did, in August 2023. Sandshrews! Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan (2023) Arriving at Yokohama two days early to rest and relax before boarding my cruise to the Kyushu region and other parts of Asia, I found myself in the midst of the Pokémon World Championship 2023 event. The areas around the
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Malaysia, Penang - Sunset over the City

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I visited Penang again in March 2024 when I took a cruise which had a stopover at the Swettenham Pier in Georgetown. Due to the relatively short stopover of only around half a day,  I only disembarked to walk around the pier area to take photographs of the cruise ship. Back to the ship at dusk, I was at Deck 15 and had a rather good view of the city when I spotted this photo opportunity of the setting sun.  Taken with my iPhone 15 Po Max, this is the view I witnessed onboard Spectrum of the Seas' Deck 15 of Sunset over the City. 📸 Sunset over the City, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia (2024)
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Travel Bits: September 2024

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Autumn Travel......  I work and live in the tropics so the changing of seasons don't really apply to me. But actually they do, because I love to travel to temperate countries during the autumn season. Why? Because the weather is cooler, the peak summer travel season is over, hotels and air tickets are generally cheaper and there are less crowd everywhere. Coming from the tropics, I can indulge in wearing my thicker clothing items such as my hoodies, wool sweaters and also dabble in wearing layered clothing, something that I cannot do in warm and humid Singapore! This year has been a pretty barren one for me in terms of travel. Into the ninth month of the year and I had only went on one actual vacation; my budget train journey from Bangkok to Singapore, in May and June 2024. My other trips; one to Ipoh in February was for the Chinese New Year Holidays to meet family and friends so it cannot really be counted as a vacation. The other trip was a 4-night return cruise from Singapore to
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Bucket List: Island Paradise

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Seychelles,  Mahé I had only visited beautiful Seychelles once, in 2000.  During that trip, I drove a rental vehicle around the island of Mahé, charted a sports fishing boat for a big game fishing experience, enjoyed dinners by the beach at Beau Vallon at dusk, strolled around charming Victoria, shopped at the morning market, visited a museum and swam among coral fishes.  This was definitely a travel bucket list item for me. The trip was also the first time I had visited an African country. The original article was posted on this blog in July 2018. ⛰ ****************** The capital of Seychelles is Victoria. Located on the island of Mahé, Victoria was formerly the seat of the British colonial government.  The beautiful beach at Beau Vallon,  Mahé, Seychelles (2000) History and Geography While the city itself was previously founded by French colonies in the late 18th century, the name Victoria was given to the city by the British colonial government in the 19th century. Due to its histor
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