Travel Bits: July 2024

By -

Planning for December Travel...... 


Traveling in the year-end month of December is different from traveling during other months of the year, at least for me. Somehow, December being the last month of the year, has that festive vibes that make me more relaxed while every part of life simply just seemed to slow down, from work to personal.

Travel during the traditional holiday month of December is definitely more expensive in my part of the world. December coincides with the year-end school holidays here in South-East Asia and is also the "last" month when most workers will need to "clear" their annual leave for the current year before the start of a brand new work year. This results in a rush to travel during this period, leading to higher costs in air tickets and destination accommodations.

But, there are always ways to mitigate the increased costs of traveling during this period. My strategy is to choose a nearer regional location and to travel earlier in the month. This December, to soak myself in the year-end festive mood, I have booked a one-week vacation to Malaysia's Penang. Nothing like enjoying the sumptuous local food in Penang for a week, chill out in nice and quaint indie cafes and simply to do nothing much but to relax. Oh, also to write. Writing, being a hobby rather than a job, helps me to relax and also improves my mental well-being. 

I have also booked for myself, to stay at a nice beach-front hotel during the trip and look forward to enjoying myself at the beach, the sea and also the hotel pool. My air tickets price is reasonable because I chose the less popular flight times and am flying economy. While my accommodation costs more than usual, this is because I chose to stay at one of my bucket-list travel accommodation!
 
With flights and accommodations confirmed, all I have to do now is simply to wait for December to arrive. I am not going to rush to visit each and every recommended touristy location in Penang during the trip. Rather, I will be spending my time and money on food and relaxation. There is thus not much to plan for in the one-week itinerary. Everyday, it will be just eat, relax, chill, swim, write, eat, sleep and repeat. A good way to recharge myself for a challenging new year ahead in 2025.

A temple in Georgetown, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Penang, Malaysia (2022)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 building housing the Academy is a
Read more

Cambodia, Siem Reap - Wall Sculptures at Angkor Wat

By -
Image
In many places of great historical and cultural significances around the world, wall sculptures left by generations before us convey messages of events past. Such messages are recorded versions of history of the places where they are found.  I have always been fascinated by how our ancient ancestors were able to faithfully convey events that would otherwise require many pages of descriptive words, through a series of wall sculptures. The creative ingenuities, stone masonry skills and storytelling talents of our ancient forebears were translated into these beautiful and amazing wall sculptures that allow us of later generations, to learn and study the civilisations that preceded us. Are these wall sculptures from the past simply just art? Or recorded history? To me, they are both and more. In my previous visits to Cambodia's renown Angkor Wat in 2015 and 2022, I spent time studying the many wall sculptures that still remained in this ancient site. The experience has made me more awa
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