Travel Bits: December 2019

2019 Travel Review.......

The year began slowly in travel terms for me. I started off 2019 with a short trip to Hong Kong in January. The trip was a combination of work and vacation. While in Hong Kong, I delighted in dinning on my favourite local food including freshly baked egg tarts, fermented tofu, fishball noodles, wonton noodles and the all-time Hong Kong speciality of Dim Sum. Apart from work, after office hours were spent shopping for my favourite Lego sets because these could usually be bought at cheaper prices in Hong Kong than when back home in Singapore.

Mall decorations at Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong SAR, China (2019)

February saw me travelling on a road trip to Ipoh, state capital of Perak in Malaysia. This had been my usual routine every year to celebrate the Chinese New Year holidays. And when I was in Ipoh, the local food as always, delighted my palate. A side trip from Ipoh to Cameron Highlands in the neighbouring Malaysian state of Pahang meant cool temperatures - because of the area's relatively high-altitude terrain - and more delicious food. 

A local eating place in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia (2019)

Travel for me stopped after that due to local work and project commitments. I did not leave on overseas trips again until June when I travelled on a short trip to the United States (US) for work, visiting the cities of Los Angeles (California), San Diego (California) and Dallas (Texas). In July, I went to Japan on vacation, flying into the city of Hiroshima and subsequently visiting other cities in Hiroshima Prefecture including Fukuyama, Onomichi, Hatsukaichi and the island of Miyajima. During this trip, I also travelled to Yamaguchi Prefecture to see the famous Kintai-kyo Bridge in Iwakuni.

Bird's eye view of the city as the plane approached the airport, San Diego, California, United States (2019)

A trip to South Korea took placed in early November when I visited the cities of Seoul, Daegu and Busan. Another side trip took me from Busan to the Japanese island of Tsushima (Nagasaki Prefecture), thus marking my second trip to Japan for the year.

Night view of the Gwangandaegyo Bridge, Gwangan-dong, Suyeong District, Busan, South Korea (2019)

Late November saw me travelling again to the US on another work trip. December saw two unplanned trips to neighbouring Malaysia in one of those "right now" moments when I simply booked coach tickets, hotel accommodations and went on overland trips to the cities of Kuala Lumpur a.k.a. KL (Federal Territory, Malaysia) and Johor Bahru a.k.a. JB (Johor, Malaysia). The coach trip from Singapore to KL was about 5 hours while it was just an hour hop from Singapore to JB. Thus, these trips can be embarked upon at a moment's notice.

2019 had been a good year of travelling for me. Besides the great food I enjoyed during my trips to Hong Kong and Malaysia, I had also enjoyed many firsts in my other trips. In Hiroshima, I visited the War Memorial and the A-Bomb Dome. In Fukuyama, my visit coincided with an annual night festival which I had not planned for. In Onomichi, I partook in the temple-walk, visiting many temples in the hills and also followed an annual Matsuri (a local Japanese festival) as it wound its way around town in all its pomp and pageantry. In Miyajima, I walked with wild deers and checked off a personal Bucket List item when I visited the Itsukushima Shrine and its famous giant Floating Torii Gate. Another personal Bucket List item was also checked when I visited the Kintai-kyo Bridge and climbed Mount Yokoyama to the Iwakuni Castle in the city of Iwakuni.

The Floating Torii Gate, Itsukushima, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan (2019)

The Kintai-kyo Bridge, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan (2019)

Iwakuni Castle, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan (2019)

In the United States, I visited the cities of Dallas, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle for the first time. Also for the first time, I took a direct non-stop flight from Singapore to the US (SIN-SEA). This was on Singapore Airlines' SQ28.

Daegu and Busan were first visits for me too when I was in South Korea in November. So were the Japanese cities of Hiroshima, Fukuyama, Onomichi, Hatsukaichi, Miyajima and Tsushima, all of which I visited for the first time.

Even though the trip to KL was not the first visit for me, it was my first visit in 11 long years!

The Petronas Twin Towers were once the world's tallest buildings and held that title for the period from 1998 to 2004. Today, they remain giant icons of the city, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2019)

For the new year in 2020, I do not have many trips firmed up as yet except for a trip to KL in January for the annual Chinese New Year holidays. A planned trip to Bali and Komodo National Park in Indonesia is confirmed for April. An early spring trip to Taipei, Beitou and probably another city on the island of Taiwan is likely to happen in February despite me having not book any air tickets and hotel accommodation yet. I am also likely to visit Japan at least once with a trip to the southern main island of Kyushu still in the early planning stage. This trip, if it materialise, will likely take me to the cities of Fukuoka, Unzen, Shimabara, Kumamoto and Beppu, all of which I have never visited before.

What about Bucket List items? If time and budget permits, I hope to be able to visit Budapest (Hungary) and Berlin (Germany).

Closing the year with this December edition of Travel Bits and here's wishing everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2020. May the Travel Luck be with all of us in 2020 and that we  will all get to visit many new and exciting places in the new year. And good health to all too. For only with good health, apart from a fat budget, will we get to better enjoy our trips. :-)