Lombok - Home of The Mighty Rinjani
Posted On Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at at 1:01 AM by Alvin
We caught a ferry from Bali to Lombok during midday and arrived just in time to view the famous Sengigi sunset and also arranged for the climb up the mighty volcano - Rinjani the next day. Met up with two Dutch men (father and son) and a British teacher currently posted in Jarkata during this over-night expedition. The climb itself was basically a series of "step-masters" which would last almost 8 hours where at the top, we could enjoy a great view (that came free with sore limbs) of the volcanic lake and Mother and Baby Rinjani ! The wind up there was fierce to say the least and we worried all night that our tent might get blown away (with us in it !). Our Dutch friends soldiered on to the top for another night while the rest of us could not wait to get to the Gili Islands where warm seas and tropical fish awaited.
The Gili Islands was the perfect place to sooth our tired limbs as there was nothing much to do except snorkeling and relaxing on the beach. The early dawn views of the distant Rinjani were spectacular ! We reluctantly left The Gilis and moved on to another peaceful destination - Sanur back on Bali proper and finished off our sojourn here with a few bottles of chilled rose to go with the soothing sunset, and of course, a few candle-lit dinners to keep Mandy happy ! During our journey to Sanur, we also spent a night at the port town of Padangbai where we stayed in an original room where we had the whole roof to ourselves !
The Gili Islands was the perfect place to sooth our tired limbs as there was nothing much to do except snorkeling and relaxing on the beach. The early dawn views of the distant Rinjani were spectacular ! We reluctantly left The Gilis and moved on to another peaceful destination - Sanur back on Bali proper and finished off our sojourn here with a few bottles of chilled rose to go with the soothing sunset, and of course, a few candle-lit dinners to keep Mandy happy ! During our journey to Sanur, we also spent a night at the port town of Padangbai where we stayed in an original room where we had the whole roof to ourselves !
Ubud - A Quiet Balinese Town
Posted On Sunday, October 22, 2006 at at 12:56 AM by Alvin
We spent a few nights in this quiet town of Ubud in the middle of Bali and acclimatised to the humidity of the Balinese climate. The amazing villa (La Subak) we stayed added much of the fun (now that's another story). Ubud was surrounded by rice fields and we spent most of our times strolling around, had some lunch and quickly went back to our amazing villa ! Little did we know, all this comfort and peace was to prepare us for the strenuous climb up the Rinjani !
Ferry To Estonia, Anyone ?
Posted On Thursday, August 3, 2006 at at 12:51 AM by AlvinArrived in Tallinn at 530a.m. on the over night ferry and explored the old town for a day before joining the alcohol-starved Finns back to Helsinki. Tallinn was very pleasant and full of medieval castles. We took time to enjoy a much-needed hot coffee and a quick breakfast and then explored the city square and the many churches. The ferry back was packed with Finns drinking cans and cans of duty free beers - a ferry ride requiring lots of patience, luckily it took only 5 hours; but you could imagine what it's like, sharing the ferry with almost 200 drunken Finns (they were mostly quite low key and quiet though) all slowly slipping into a state of quasi-Nirvana and started to fall down or sideways, all with a happy and satisfied smile hanging on their lips...
Of note, around the ferry pier, we came across this funky "eagle-bear-man" statute, take a look, no idea who he was supposed to be !
Of note, around the ferry pier, we came across this funky "eagle-bear-man" statute, take a look, no idea who he was supposed to be ! 
Majestic Stockholm
Posted On Monday, July 31, 2006 at at 12:48 AM by AlvinWe arrived by train from Oslo this morning, managed to find a hotel in Gamla Stan - the old part of this city where there were lots of alley ways and attractive street side cafes. Stockholm had a grandeur feel about it. We also checked out the location of the pier where we would board the over-night ferry to Helsinki - couldn't wait for that journey as the dinner buffet was reputedly to be a real gourmet's treat. Yummy !
The other city we visited in Sweden was Lulea in the North. We crossed over from Finland on a delayed bus and missed our train to Narvik by 15 minutes; but no worries, we thought, let's stay for another day in this town, why not ? Lulea turned out to be a very attractive town with pretty squares and friendly locals and the outdoor cafes were set in a very pleasant outdoor environment and the town had a relaxing, laid-back vibe about it. We enjoyed our day in Lulea and walked to the nearby lake where we were amazed to find out that "Status Quo" was on tour there !
Friends From Oslo
Posted On Saturday, July 29, 2006 at at 12:45 AM by AlvinAfter our bus, train, boat journeys from the northern parts of Norway - Narvik, Lofoten islands, Geringer, Hellesylt, Strondal, Voss, Trondheim, Forde and so on, we finally reached the capital, Oslo in the morning. Oslo was quite a nice city with a long promenade and there were many street-side cafes where we wiled away the day over a beer or two. We spent two days here exploring around the City Hall and the Vigeland park where we found many interesting human sculptures.
Along The Norwegian Highway From Narvik To Voss
Posted On Thursday, July 20, 2006 at at 12:43 AM by AlvinThe panorama was just stunning during this part of our journey as we traveled by buses and trains from the Norwegian North (Narvik) down South (Voss). We passed silent mountains, rushing waterfalls, beautiful churches and grinding glaziers. Over the different Scandinavian countries we had travelled so far, Norway scored the highest marks when it came to raw and beautiful scenery; with Finland coming top for relaxing lakeside excursions and Sweden for cultural excitments and lush green grasslands.
Throughout this journey, food was a constant topic between Mandy and myself as we discovered (to our half horror, half exclamation) that peoples from this part of the world were not known (really) for their culinary skills; and we ended up having breakfast: salmon with bread and lettuce; lunch: salami with bread and lettuce; dinner: a combination of salmon and salami with leftover lettuce...all from the breakfast table. Bring on Hong Kong and the city's many foods !
Throughout this journey, food was a constant topic between Mandy and myself as we discovered (to our half horror, half exclamation) that peoples from this part of the world were not known (really) for their culinary skills; and we ended up having breakfast: salmon with bread and lettuce; lunch: salami with bread and lettuce; dinner: a combination of salmon and salami with leftover lettuce...all from the breakfast table. Bring on Hong Kong and the city's many foods !
Fjords and More Fjords
Posted On Wednesday, July 19, 2006 at at 12:40 AM by AlvinStaying at a hostel in the lovely fjord-side town of Hellesylt for a few stationary days. We really enjoyed this short pause in our hectic journey. We hiked along many scenic trails and Mandy cooked ourselves some serious pasta ! We also spent some leisure times in the town centre just watching busy caravans and cars from all over Europe easing past this lovely peaceful town.
A Fine Finn Farm and The Santa Claus Village (Yikes!)
Posted On Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at at 12:34 AM by AlvinWe managed to book a room through the Internet and stayed at a Finn farm, with a mega Finn breakfast consisting of home-made "really rough" porridge, bowls of fruits, tonnes of bread and some major yogurt and of course non-stop supply of fresh air in this beautiful farm. We walked around the local villages, farmlands and relaxed with a sauna followed by a dip in the lake - true relaxation. That's Mandy in the photo enjoying her pre-dinner dip. 
The following day we said goodbye to the nice farm owner and took an overnight train to a cold drizzling Roveniemi and arrived all groggy and disorientated. We quickly warmed ourselves up with a couple of hot coffees and a hearty Scandinavian breakfast. As for the The Santa Claus Village in Roveniemi, unless you are a great fan of his and likes to listen to Christmas Carols in the middle of Summer - skip it ! Below is a photo of his postbox ! 
However, there was one redeeming feature at the Santa Claus Village - you can take a photo right on the Arctic Circle line, loved it ! 
24 hours sunny Helsinki
Posted On Tuesday, July 11, 2006 at at 5:50 PM by AlvinWe landed in Helsinki just after lunch and we found Helsinki to be a very laid back and peaceful capital. We enjoyed the 24 hours sun light and we felt like we were sleeping during the "day" even when it was actually mid-night ! We found one thing strange about Scandinavia - none of the rooms had proper (thick) curtains to block off the 24 hours sun ! Never mind.
We took time exploring the many churches in Helsinki and paid a visit to the Olavinlinna Castle - Savonlinna (one of the many lakeside towns in Finland) during our stay at the Finn Farm in Punkaharju village.
We took time exploring the many churches in Helsinki and paid a visit to the Olavinlinna Castle - Savonlinna (one of the many lakeside towns in Finland) during our stay at the Finn Farm in Punkaharju village.
Food and Friends in Danao - A Town in Cebu
Posted On Friday, April 7, 2006 at at 1:06 AM by AlvinAfter seeing off Mandy in the morning for her trip back to HK, I made my way to Danao, a town in the middle of Cebu that was bombed and re-built by the Americans during WWII. Danao was completely non-touristy as there was only 1 (!) hotel in town. Luckily I found the night market and the roast chicken was ace and the children were very photogenic !
I also spent 2 nights in the Camotoes Islands which were an hour's boat ride from Danao with a population of 200 I read somewhere on my guide book. Fun I thought. When I reached the island, the island was just full of banana trees and not a lot else. The house (hut) I stayed which had one bed, one bucket for shower water, one squat toilet and a door with a dodgy lock and a overhead lamp with no light bulb, was owned by a Swede woman (I think) who would come back to the island every so often; other than that, the hut was left open to whomever dumb-ass tourist happened to stumble across it on his guide book. The last guy who stayed there was apparently a Japanese man 2 years ago (!) and he got away alive (I think)... Anyway, a great place to hide away with a book. Basically I wiled away the days with the local Tanduay rum followed by lunches and dinners cooked by the lady looking after the hut, quite a novel experience, really.
The Bohol Chocolate Hills ...
Posted On Monday, April 3, 2006 at at 1:04 AM by AlvinThe Chocolate Hills was the number one attraction in Bohol, a small island off Cebu; both belonging to the Visaya group of Philippine islands. We rested for one night near Fuente Osmena Circle at the northern end of Cebu before taking a fast boat to Bohol.
Having spent a few days sunning on the Alona Beach, we headed for Loboc , the town closest to The Chocky Hills. In actual fact, the Chocolate Hills looked to us more like big mole hills. It's an interesting diversion for half a day when afterwards we resumed our busy schedules of relaxation and paper-back reading as well as getting back to Nuts Hut before our beer got warm. The Nuts Hut where we stayed nearby was run by a couple from Belgium and the place offered peace and quiet with a little of the modern comfort such as banana pancakes !
