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Tao Philippines Adventure
Maja and I were both leaving Singapore for good in a couple months and both wanted to get a couple more adventures in as a last hurrah. We tossed some ideas around and agreed to do the Tao Philippines Palawan adventure boat. Several friends had told me over the years how amazing this experience is. Tao Philippines is an adventure travel operator; their signature trip is week long island-hopping adventure from El Nido to Coron (or vice versa) on a souped-up bangka boat. My friend PL loved the trip so much that when her boat sailed into the last stop in Coron, she promptly got right back on to do…
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Where to go and what to eat in Singapore
Living in Singapore, you get a lot of pass-through traffic. By that, I mean friends who stop in Singapore for a few days, enroute to somewhere. Aussie friends on their way to Europe, European friends on their way to Bali, whatever the case I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to have lunch/dinner/drinks with these visitors and giving them my list of suggestions for their visit. Here’s my list of places to visit/things to eat/do in Singapore that I’ve shared with friends, and now with you. It’s long, so pick and choose what interests you the most. Eat – Singapore is a foodie’s paradise, so naturally I’ll start with recommendations on where…
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Making Bak Kut Teh
Bak Kut Teh – which literally translates into meat bone tea, is a traditional Singaporean/Malaysian dish, popular in both countries. I’m actually not a massive fan, I prefer the Malaysian version over the Singaporean one, but even so, I can take it or leave it. There are plenty of other things I’d much rather eat in Singapore. However, I wanted to try to make it so that my family can try it. I bought a couple packets of the spice and tried the Malaysian one today. I followed the instructions on the back of the pack closely. It was easy to make and the results actually taste pretty good, for…
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Long weekend in Pondicherry
Easter long weekend, a sense of adventure, and a hankering for some good dahl — what more reason do you need to book a trip to India? I must admit, I’d always been apprehensive about going to India. It’s a huge, diverse, intense country, a place that can initially seem daunting to even think about planning a trip for. But more than anything else, I always had a fear of catching food poisoning in India. Horror stories abound amongst travellers about being horrifically ill in India. After my personal experience with food poisoning in Myanmar, I was very very wary of this risk. But my old flatmate Lisa adores India…
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Lions and Hippos and Zebras oh my!
Thoroughly enjoyed the five day safari I did with Tanzania Experience. Though I booked the trip via African Budget Safaris, the actual tour operator was Tanzania Experience. Our vehicle was great, our tour guide was awesome, and the accommodation and food were superb and even better than I was expecting. Saw the “big five” animals, although the elusive rhino was difficult to find and when we finally did see it at the bottom of the Ngorongoro Crater it was from a far distance…I could just make out the silhouette of the rhino by staring hard into my binoculars. Highlights of the trip… Hippos. What funny looking creatures. Quite deadly apparently…though when…
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Tanzania – how to pick a safari operator
One thing to call out early: Africa is not a cheap place to travel. After 3 years living in Asia and being spoiled by the affordable travel available in the likes of Thailand and Indonesia, I was a bit sticker shocked by the prices of very basic accommodation in Tanzania. And even more sticker shocked by the prices of the safaris. To be fair, there is a wide range, you can go budget and sleep in tents or roll out the red carpet and stay at the Four Seasons soaking in a hot tub while staring at giraffes and elephants metres away. Choose your own adventure. Being my first trip…
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Zanzi…where?
“I really need a beach holiday” my friend Alison said. Alison had been back in Germany for almost a year and the poor girl was sun starved. We were planning a reunion trip for December/January, so anywhere in Europe for a beach holiday wasn’t really going to be feasible. South America? Too far? South Africa?!? I’d never been but have this on the top of the list. But Alison had been before…hmm…what about Zanzibar, she asked? Zanzibar…that name alone sounded so exotic and exciting. I’d heard of it, but honestly didn’t know exactly where it was or anything else about it. I quickly googled it: Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago…
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When you want to go “extra” on photos
I recently had the chance to go a bit “extra” and do a photoshoot in the middle of the rice fields in Ubud. Wearing a bright coral evening gown. Wait what? Why? Because why not?! Here’s the back story. I was going to be in Jakarta to see a client for work on a Friday, I was feeling a bit down, so I thought a short solo weekend away in Ubud would be a good way to recharge. I’d been to Ubud two years ago and loved it, and had wanted to go back to check it out again for a while. Having followed her Instagram stories, I knew my…
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Myanmar
A and I picked Myanmar for our trip together. It would be her last trip in Asia before she headed home to Germany. For me, it would be a chance to take a bit of a longer break, with Christmas and New Year being a quieter period at work. Neither of us had been to Myanmar, but we’d heard good things, so it seemed like a good choice! Most memorable things about Myanmar: How incredibly friendly and kind the people are The beautiful, peaceful Inle Lake area. Many people will tell you Bagan is their favourite, but for me Inle was the highlight of Myanmar The pale yellow face paint…
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Cooking classes abroad
I LOVE taking cooking classes whilst I’m travelling abroad. To-date, I’ve tried cooking classes in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bali, and Vietnam. So much fun, and if you’re a foodie like me, it’s fascinating to see how some of your favourite exotic foods are made. Next time you’re on vacation, try one out. For inspiration, here are some info and links to the ones that I’ve done in the past. Vietnam: I did the Hoi An Eco Cooking class (in you guessed it, Hoi An). It’s a super cute family run course and the bonus is you get to ride a little round bamboo boat to the facility where the…
