Travel Bits: October 2021

By -

The wild beckons....... but.....

Being stuck within the confines of a small apartment and its walled interiors for the past 20+ months while (at times) feverishly working-from-home to meet rushed deadlines imposed by clients has left me feeling a bit cooped up. Suddenly, usually boring and typically ignored stuff like a patch of grass or a bunch of trees in the distance has become a much yearn-for change-of-environment.

In part inspired by my recent weeknights binge watching of Korean variety shows on cable showcasing life in rural outdoor places, I imagined how nice it would be if I could (for a short period of time) indulge in these same activities. In these shows, Korean celebrities camped out, prepared their own meals over open-air campfires, went fishing or simply just chilled out  and enjoyed nature.

Unfortunately, I live in a small cramp city where there are hardly any wilderness to head out to, where driving camper vans and spending a week or two out in the wild is an impossible dream and also where open-air campfire is strictly prohibited due to the risks of fire hazards. Of course, living life in the wild comes with inconveniences not featured in those variety shows I watched on cable. Inconveniences such as armies of mosquitoes, sudden rainstorms drenching the campsite, where to find fresh water, how to keep food fresh for a week out in the wild, how to handle laundry and so on are not shown or discussed. 

The city-slicker in me will thus continue to stay in my small but cosy apartment, work like crazy from my home-office in the day and camp on my sofa in front of the television at night to watch Korean celebrities live life in the wild on variety shows. Oh, and a warm cup of beverage on my side table for me to sip while I enjoy my nights away.

Urban Apartments, Bukit Panjang, Singapore (2020)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Japan, Takayama - Dining on Wasakana

By -
Image
The city of Takayama is also known as Hida-Takayama and is located in the mountainous Hida region of Gifu Prefecture in Japan. A popular dish in Takayama is Wasakana or river fish. There are many species of river fishes in Takayama but the ones that are regularly served as part of the local cuisines are Ayu ( Plecoglossus altivelis , ) a.k.a sweetfish and Iwana ( Salvelinus leucomaenis ), a species of river trout.  Wasakana (River Fish). This fish was pickled and then grilled. I am not sure of the species of this fish which was caught in the river behind the Ryokan where I resided during my stay in the mountains. Takayama, Gifu, Japan (2014) The fishes are usually marinated with sea salt and grilled. This method of cooking the river fishes is most popularly shown in pictures or on travel documentaries. During my visit to Takayama in October 2014, I finally got to savor the delicious tastes of the Wasakana prepared in authentic local styles by the locals....
Read more

Singapore, Horsburgh - Deep Sea Fishing

By -
Image
Horsburgh Lighthouse (or Horsburgh) is located on an outlying small island (a.k.a Pedra Branca meaning "White Rock" in Portuguese) near the entrance to the east of the Straits of Singapore. The lighthouse was named after Cpt James Horsburgh, who was a hydrographer with the then East India Company. Horsburgh is located about 54km (34 miles) east of Singapore. It was raining in the morning as we set off for the long anticipated trip which was planned as far back as 3 months ago in August 1998. There were four of us; YK, Kenneth, CC and myself.  
 Soon, we were on our way to the suppossedly rich fishing grounds near Horsburgh Lighthouse. This locale is considered a good fishing ground for recreational fishing because commercial trawling is supposedly not permitted.  
 We reached our first fishing spot at exactly 5.00 pm local time. Looking around, we couldn't see actually any lighthouse but who cares, it was the fishing that we were coming for, not a visit to so...
Read more

Estonia, Tallinn - Palace of Ungern-Sternberg

By -
Image
I was awestruck by the grandness and magnificence of this building during my walking tour of the Old Town of Tallinn. While there, I had no opportunity to enter the building itself. Thus, admiring its facade and photographing its structure as I walked around its perimeter had to suffice.  The  Palace of Ungern-Sternberg, Tallinn, Estonia (2017) Without knowing what this building was, its history and its name, the photographs I took allowed me to conduct basic research on it after the trip.  Based on my rudimentary research into the building long after my trip to Tallinn, I was to discover that it was built in the year 1865 by the German architect, Martin Gropius. Also known as the Palace of Ungern-Sternberg, the building is today the home of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. The Academy is a group of scientists whose aim is to promote research & development and scientific cooperation as well as knowledge dissemination.  The main build...
Read more