Upon arriving at Nyuang-U, the bus station that leads to Bagan, we were immediately faced with numerous touts trying to sell us their taxi, bicycle, trishaw or horse carriage into the town. It was 3am and we were still quite groggy when we arrived in Nyuang-U and I didn’t like how pushy the locals were. …
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On our second day in Inle we took a boat tour because we realised that’s the only way we can see the floating villages. In the morning it was raining and I felt disappointed because of the bad weather and we could not see much. Luckily the boatman had prepared umbrellas and blanket for us …
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The overnight bus from Yangon to Inle took about 12h with pit stops along the way. The bus was quite comfortable, with snacks and water served and the seats were spacious. We arrived in shywen yang, the town closest to Inle around 530am and a local person solicited 10 usd from us for the tourist …
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The plane was quite empty, so I changed from my allocated seat along the aisle to an empty row behind with my favourite window seat. I was not tired despite sleeping for only four hours the previous night. As the plane was landing, I peered out of the window and saw many flood ricefields and …
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THESIS OVER! It is indeed an achievement unlocked for me and one of the memorable events of my undergraduate life. Being a transfer student with no A level geog background, I jumped into geog after suffering for one year under math. I took GE1101E and the lecturer Chang just somehow inspired me to take geog …
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The French Riviera is a stretch of the Mediterranean coast between Cassis and the Italian border. It may be renowned as the lap of luxury, but scratch a little deeper and there’s romance of a different kind. Even when I visited the French Riviera in winter, it was surprisingly sunny and the temperature was hoovering …
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countdown at Marina Bay Sands. Wishing everyone a prosperous and happy new year!
How time flies! This is the last day of 2014 and I still recall spending the first day of this year crowding with people at the Vatican City trying to get a glimpse of the Pope. It was an arduous journey for the first half of the year because I had to cope with post-exchange …
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The historic French city of Strasbourg is a Unesco World Heritage site replete with ancient cultural and architectural wonders. I arrived in Strasbourg from across the German border and decided to visit this town before making my way back to Grenoble, where I was based. Located 500km east of Paris, Strasbourg is the capital of …
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Melbourne is sometimes called ‘Paris of the Southern Hemisphere’, but with its grand buildings, broad avenues, sense of space and its trams, it is perhaps more like Vienna. And like Vienna, Melbourne has a long and rather unfair reputation of being formal and stuffy. Not any longer. It has been given a new injection of …
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In the mood of Christmas and because I’m bored of writing for my thesis, I’ve decided to write more articles about my travels in Europe last autumn/winter. Today we feature: Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France. giant feris wheel lighted up for the lights festival in the city centre of Lyon in front of hotel …
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Although Myanmar is part of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), but for Singapore passport holders, we still need to apply for a visa before entering the country. There are two ways to do so – either in person at the embassy (cost $45) or apply for an e-visa online at http://evisa.moip.gov.mm/NewApplication.aspx (cost $65). The …
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HAPPY DECEMBER! So fast it’s the time of the year again where festive bells are ringing and the smell of Christmas is in the air. Yesterday, I watched a second Spanish film as part of the Latin American Film Festival in Singapore. This was much better than the one that I watched the previous day …
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As part of the Latin America film festival in Singapore, I watched the show “Puerto Padre” (Port Father) today. It was a film from Costa Rica and although free tickets were distributed half an hour earlier, there were not many people. I saw the queue for the Brazilian film was much longer. Daniel, 16, an …
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1. THE SPANISH RIDING SCHOOL The cliched Vienna of stiff collars and imperial grandeur is symbolised perfectly by the Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School. In displays of skill and dexterity, the white horses prance around one of the Hofburg’s grand courtyards carrying their impeccably attired riders. There’s a reason the school has been …
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As a Singaporean, I’m so proud that my country has been named the top destination to visit in 2015 by Lonely Planet. Read on to find out more.. As one of the world’s most multicultural cities, Singapore is always celebrating something. But Singapore has an extra special reason to put on her party hat in …
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Yesterday I brought my friends to kudeta to enjoy the city views of Singapore, but it turned out to be a horrible choice. Out of our party of five, only three managed to enter because they are girls and westerner. The two of us left outside were locals, we just got rejected at the door …
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The university town of Craiova, founded on the site of the ancient Dacian and Roman stronghold of Pelendava, is a regional commercial centre and transport hub. All long-haul trains between Timişoara and Bucharest stop here, so it makes a convenient point to break a long journey. The modern city, frankly, is not much to look …
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During our road trip, we also covered two mountain passes, Transfăgărășan and Transalpina. The Transfăgărășan Road passes through the Fagaras Mountains in the southern Carpathians, the highest mountains in the whole of Romania. I was inspired to visit this place after my friend showed me a video of Topgear driving through Romania, from Bucharest to …
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From Bucharest, trains carve their way north through the spectacular Carpathian mountain range into the heart of Transylvania. The Carpathians is dotted with caves, alpine meadows, dense forests and lowland valleys with quaint villages. Transylvania is home to some of Europe’s best-preserved medieval towns, of which Brasov and Sibiu are just two of beautiful medieval …
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I have discovered the great joy of hosting people. When I was in Europe, I did a lot of couchsurfing to save on accommodation and made many new friends who were able to show me their city from a local’s perspective. Coming back to Singapore, I wanted to pay it forward and continue to meet …
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Constanţa is Romania’s largest and most important port city on the Black Sea; in summer, it’s also the gateway to the country’s seaside resorts. Accommodation here is cheaper than in Mamaia and maxi taxis cover the journey in about 15 minutes, so it may be worthwhile to consider basing yourself here even if you’re only …
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Complete with gable paintings, the covered, medieval Chapel Bridge forms the centrepiece of Lucerne’s townscape and is considered to be one of the oldest, covered wooden bridges in Europe. A further landmark of the town is the Museggmauer, a wall which, with the exception only of one of its towers, has been preserved in its …
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On first sight, Bucharest, the capital of Romania, may seem boring and lacking of beautiful architecture. However, it does have its charms and elegance which need a little digging for. Among the ruptured roads and disintegrating buildings, you will find shaded parks and dressed up young Romanians adding a touch of glamour to the surroundings. …
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