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Bucket List: A Day Trip to Kumamoto and Kumamon's Hometown

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Kumamoto , Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan This article was first published on this blog in April 2024. Prior to this trip, I had already know about Kumamoto and their cute mascot, Kumamon . This day trip was a port visit when the cruise ship Spectrum of the Seas made a port call as part of the cruise from Yokohama to Singapore in August 2023. Originally not part of the itinerary, this port visit was a last minute insertion after the ship had to skip port visits to Shimizu and Osaka due to Typhoon Lan . I was not upset about the skipping of the two scheduled port visits because I understand the importance of safety for everyone onboard, both passengers and crew. I was instead thrilled about the last minute inclusion of Kumamoto (via Yatsushiro Port ) as a port stop. And thus, one of my bucket travel list item to visit Kumamoto was achieved. ****************** I visited the city of Kumamoto for the first time in August 2023 as part of a port visit by the cruise ship I was saili...
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Bucket List: Kuala Kangsar, Royal Town of Perak

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Kuala Kansar , Perak, Malaysia This article was first published on this blog in June 2025. Far flung exotic locations from our home cities. These are usually the places on most people's Travel Bucket List . But there are also locations near to our home cities that can be equally amazing and more than worthy of being on anyone's Travel Bucket List. For me, Kuala Kangsar is one of these places on my Travel Bucket List. Located in peninsular Malaysia in the state of Perak, Kuala Bangsar is just under 600km from my home city of Singapore . From Singapore, it is accessible by land (around 9 to 10 hours on a leisurely drive along Malaysia' North -South Highway) or by air (via Ipoh followed by road).  Kuala Kangsar is of course, also easily reached by road or rail from Padang Besar (Perlis), Alor Setar (Kedah), Butterworth (Penang), Ipoh (Perak) and Kuala Lumpur. ****************** Kuala Kangsar  is located along the  Kangsar River  near  Ipoh , the State Capital ...
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Post-Trip Recollections - From the Lion City to the Land of the Blue Dragons to Asia's World City

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This was my fifth cruise overall on Royal Caribbean's (RCL) ships and my first time cruising onboard Ovation of the Seas . The ship was on its re-positioning cruise from Brisbane and I boarded it in Singapore as it continued on its way to Vietnam , Hong Kong and Okinawa . My cruise was only from Singapore to Hong Kong in April 2025. It was a 5-night cruise with a single stopover in Vietnam's Chân Mây Port . Ovation of the Seas at port,  Chân Mây,  Huế Province, Vietnam (2025) On boarding day in Singapore, we boarded the ship on time at 11am as scheduled. This being my fifth time onboard a RCL ship, I was rather familiar with the embarkation day procedures, including heading straight for the safety briefing before taking the elevator to Deck 14 for my lunch at Windjammer .  Since it was only 11am, Windjammer was still not really crowded. It usually got really crowded around 12pm onwards when one could start to see folks walking around looking for tables. Rooms were usu...
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Travel Bits: November 2025

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Another month, another weekend trip.....  Just last week, I returned from another weekend trip to Hong Kong . This was my 4th weekend trip to Hong Kong this year and my 5th trip to this southern Chinese city in 2025. The last weekend of November will see me making another weekend trip to Hong Kong again.  Why so many weekend trips? Did I recently strike the lottery? Of course not! I travelled to Hong Kong so frequently recently to visit my partner who is a Hong Kong resident. During each trip, we spent time together. Being a local resident, my partner brought me to places in the city that I had known but never visited. And of course, this place being a foodie's paradise , I have started trying out lots of local food that I had never tried before despite numerous trips over the past years. This colourful building with clear blue sky in the background presents itself as a unique photographic subject, Sha Tin , Hong Kong, China (2025) Visiting and discovering new places and food ...
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Post-Trip Recollections - Bali and Lombok Cruise

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I booked this cruise way ahead of the scheduled sailing and thus got quote a good deal because of the early booking. After almost two years of waiting, I finally boarded the ship on Monday morning of 24th February 2025. This will be an 8-night cruise on a return trip sailing from Singapore to Indonesia's Bali and Lombok before retuning to port in Singapore on 3rd March 2025. Previously, I had sailed four times onboard Spectrum of the Seas . This was my first sailing onboard Anthem of the Seas . Different ship, different vibes. Anthem of the Seas anchored on the sea during the port visit to Clean Bawang, Bali, Indonesia (2025) The ship left port and departed Singapore's Marina Cruise Centre in the late afternoon, around 4.30pm. Sailing southwards past Indonesia's Riau Island and across the Java Sea to the island of Bali. I am a frequent visitor to Bali for vacations. But this was my first time sailing to Bali instead of traveling there by flight! After two sunny sea da...
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Travel Bits: October 2025

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Autumn season is here.....  Just to clarify, I live in a tropical city . Thus, there is no such thing as autumn. But I do travel. And when I travel, I love the mild cool weather of autumn. Personally, I dislike summer, anywhere in the world. The heat and humidity that characterise summer is something I do not enjoy. Maybe this is because I experience "summer" all year round where I live! Besides the uncomfortable heat and humidity of summer, the peak travel season that is summer also drives up prices of everything, from air tickets to accommodation. Even if prices do not factor into the budget of the well-off travelers, there is the issue of being able to book train seats and getting that restaurant reservation. But autumn is a different season altogether. The peak summer crowd is usually absent. The weather is mild and cool. The natural scenery usually spectacular in temperate countries as the leaves on the trees started to turn yellow, orange and bright crimson in colours...
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Indonesia, Bali - Fishing Boats

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I am always fascinated by fishing boats and often wondered about how life is for those who work on fishing boats.  While in Benoa , I chanced upon a fishing port . Rows and rows of fishing boats were in port, some with friendly fishermen onboard who waved and shouted warm greetings as I walked along the pier . Returning the kind gestures, I waved back and said "hello" in return. Of course, these fishing boats are rather photogenic. Here's one of the many photographs I took of the fishing boats I saw that day. 🐟 Fishing Boats, Benoa Fishing Port , Bali , Indonesia (2025)
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