Australia - Sydney

Sydney is a vibrant, dynamic and accessible city. My first Sydney exploration was in 2006 with my hubby. My second trip was in 2008, my first sales conference with GSK. My first trip was primarily focused on the tourist attractions around Central Sydney (The Rocks, Sydney Opera House, Chinatown, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, Sydney Tower) whereas the second trip includes Sydney Fish Market, Royal Botanic Garden, Port Stephens and Katoomba.

Sydney Fish Market, the largest fish market in the Southern Hemisphere and the world second largest seafood market outside of Japan (based on variety) is where we had lunch. After a sumptuous seafood meal at the Fisherman Wharf Restaurant, many of us were still hunting for more seafood in the market place. It is hard to resist the tempatation when you had to walk pass so many stalls with different types of seafood. Koon Yin and I share a dozen oyster, so fresh and yummy! Great place to enjoy quality local seafood at very reasonable prices.

Mrs Macquaire's Chair, otherwise known as Lady Macquarie's Chair, provides one of the best vantage points in Sydney. The historic chair was carved out of a rock ledge for Governor Lachlan Macquarie's wife, Elizabeth, as she was known to visit the area and sit enjoying the panoramic views of the harbour. The views are still enjoyed today, over 150 years later by hundreds of Sydney siders and tourists each day. I heard if you make a wish while sitting on Mrs Macquarie's Chair, there's a great chance of it becoming true.

On the way to Port Stephens, we stopped for sand dune sandboarding. The grains of sand have been washed in from the sea and blown ashore to form dunes up to thirty metres high. Our guide told us that most of the sand was deposited about six thousand years ago. Is sandboarding fun? Well, going down the sand dune was fun but trudging uphill on a large sand dune with a steep gradient is absolutely murderous. More so when you have just face-planted into the bottom of said dune and are spitting sand out.

Next stop...Port Stephens for dolphin watching on board Moonshadow Cruise. We were all very anxious and had high hope of seeing dolphins as we were told Port Stephens is home to more than 150 bottlenose dolphins but to our disappointment, we only managed to catch a glimpse of a dolphin's fin. So much for the thrill of being up close with the wild dolphins of Port Stephens.

Opened in 1930, Koala Santuary Park, founded by the late Noel Burnet was the first private koala sanctuary in New South Wales. The preservation of the koala is the main theme of the park but visitors can also walk in and pat the kangaroos, meet a wombat and chat with cockatoos. There is lots more to see and do, including visiting the echidnas, dingoes, wedge tailed eagles, flying foxes, kookuburras and emus or go along to one of the sheep shearing shows.

Katoomba is a derivative of the Aboriginal word ‘Kedumba’ meaning ‘shiny, falling waters’ after the natural beauty of the area. Katoomba, home to Echo Point and the famous Three Sister is the most visited town in the Blue Mountains. A visit to the Blue Mountains would not be complete without viewing the spectacular Three Sisters at Echo Point. Well, we actually did not get to see the Three Sisters because of bad weather. It was raining and foggy.

The ride on Scenic Railway and Sceniscender, the steepest aerial cable car in Australia was an experience in itself. It is also in Katoomba (Canton Palace) that I had my first taste of kangaroo meat! Do I like it? Yes, it tasted just like beef especially when it's fried with black pepper.

For food, fun and bargain shopping, head towards Haymarket, home to Sydney's Chinatown and Paddy's Market / Market City. A great place for Yum Cha, watching Chinese herbalist preparing Eastern remedies and to hunt down discounts. The area is also fast becoming a late night entertainment venue with restaurants opening till late.

Darling Harbour is the other area worth checking out for food, fun and shopping. The lively waterfront percinct has developed into one of Sydney's largest dining, shopping and entertainment areas with exhibition and convention centers. One of the prime hotspots, King Street Wharf, is packed with sleek dining establishments. The Cockle Bay Wharf offers waterfront promenades with alfresco cafés, bars and restaurants. Across the water, lies Harbourside Shopping Centre, a dynamic mix of shops, restaurants and food to go. Not forgetting, The Rocks. With it's colourful history dating back to convicts days, The Rocks is now a magnet for visitors who flock to its many shops, boutiques, pubs and restaurants.

Sydney is never short of great places for food and shopping. Explore by foot around Circular Quay and I'm sure you will be spoilt of choices too! There is a Malaysian restaurant close by Marriot Hotel if you are home sick.

Visit the Sydney Tower to take in the best views of Sydney from the Tower's Observation Deck, the highest tourist attraction and building in Sydney. Sydney Tower provides a panoramic 360 degree view from the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the north, picturesque Blue Mountains to the west, historical Botany Bay on the south and to the east, the magnificent Pacific Ocean.

To complete our Australian experience, we went on the OzTrek located on the Podium Level. Safely strapped into our seats, we were taken on a journey across Australia’s landscapes, history and terrain to explore its national treasures. Soar above Sydney’s iconic structures, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Turn back time to the decks of The Bounty and historical Ballarat during the Gold Rush. Dip through Queensland’s Barron Gorge and Tully River and even visit the mystical Uluru. The experience with special effects, the sensational surround sound and heart–stopping real motion seating lasted approximately 15 minutes.

For the adrenalin junkie, try out the Skywalk, a breathtaking outdoor tour on the roof top of the highest tourist attraction in Sydney. Skywalk is double the height of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the same height as the Eiffel Tower. Skywalk takes 60 minutes and runs approximately every hour. No bookings required. Sky walking is definately not something that I'll ever do in this lifetime.

China - Suzhou

I've visited Suzhou some years back but since my husband has never been there, we jumped on the idea to join Bibi and John on one of their business trips.

There was an old saying "Paradise in Heaven, Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth". Suzhou, about 80 kms west of Shanghai, is renowned for its beautiful stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens. Streets and alleys extend side by side with canals.

We flew on AirAsia to Hangzhou and drove to Suzhou. Upon reaching Suzhou, we were given a massage treat by Bibi and John at the Dragonfly Spa. A great way to loosen up after landing followed with dinner where we get to eat a very special dish called Squirrel Fish, a dish not to be missed in Suzhou. Another must try dish is the pau like dumpling from the shop "Tar Ah Er" in old Suzhou town.

While Bibi and John are working, we visited the Humble Administrator Garden. It was originally built in 1509 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as a private garden of Wang Xianchen. The name of the garden came from the humble life of Wang who intended to build a garden after retirement, planting trees and vegetables.

Humble Adminstrator Garden consist of 3 sections; Eastern, Central and Western sections. It was created upon the old relics of a resident and a temple. Water feature and its natural landscape including small forests, hills and rock formations formed the main background with man-made pavilions, halls and parlors.

Some of the garden's attractions are; Cymbidium Goeingii Hall (Lanxiang Tang) which has the map of the entire garden on its south wall, Celestial Spring Pavilion (Tianquan Ting) which is named after an ancient well whose water tastes very sweet, The Hall of Distant Fragrance (Yuanxiang Tang) which is named after a lotus pool nearby, designed with oversized glass windows on all sides for easy viewing, Small Flying Rainbow Bridge (Xiaofeihong) a rare type of bridge and the only one in the garden you can walk across, The 18 Camellias Hall (Shiba Mantuoluohua Guan), The 36 Pairs of Mandarin Duck's Hall (Saliu Yuanyang Guan) and the Pagoda Reflection Pavilion (Taying Ting) an optical illusion where the pagoda seems to be lifting when all we actually see is the reflection of the pavilion. Ghee and I had a great time walking around The Humble Adminstrator Garden.

Our next stop Tiger Hill, got its name after a white tiger came and sat upon, as though guarding the grave of King He Lu, 3 days after his funeral. Tiger Hill is also known as Surging Sea Hill and is a large hillock with a number of historical sites some of which can be traced back over 2500 years to the founding of Suzhou.

Tiger Hill Pagoda, Suzhou vicinity's oldest pagoda stands on the hill's summit and has become a symbol of the city. It is a seven-story octahedron, built during the Northern Song Dynasty after the style of the timber pagodas built during the early Tang dynasty. It is 48 metres high (158 feet) and for the past four hundred years has leant 359' to the northwest. Italy has leaning tower of Pisa, Malaysia has Telok Intan leaning clock tower and China's Leaning Tower is right here in Suzhou!

Sword Testing Stone and Sword Pool is said to be the testing stone used by King He Lu, a zealous collector of rare swords. The crevice made in the rock is the only evidence of the existence of these swords as it is believed that they were buried beneath the Sword Pool as funerary objects. Another mystery that surrounds the tomb is the whereabouts of the remains of the 1,000 workers who built it and who were put to death upon completion of the task.

Thousands of bonsai tree is on display in Wanjing Villa. The miniature replicas of full sized gardens are sure to amaze and give an insight into the skill and artistry of Chinese master gardeners that has been handed down from long ago.

There can be little doubt that Tiger Hill is a wonderful sight with its leaning pagoda (China's Leaning Tower), waterfalls and landscaped paths. It will never cease to amaze and enthral visitors with its heritage and it is hard to believe that the hill was man made to be the burial place of a king.

42% of Suzhou is covered with water including a vast number of ponds and streams. So, how can our trip be complete without a visit to Tongli, an age-old but very well preserved water township with a history of more than 1,000 years?

Tongli (originally named Fushi, also known as Little Venice) is famous for its bridges of various styles and has a reputation of a "museum of ancient architectures".

15 small river lanes crisscrossed the town, over which spans around 49 stone bridges in variety of styles. The most notable are Peace and Tranquility (Taiping) Bridge, Luck (Jili) Bridge and Lasting Celebration (Changqing) Bridge, also known as Ternate Bridges as they cross three rivers at their confluence and form a natural ring road. Whenever there is an important occasion, such as wedding, people would like to walk through the three bridges, which is supposed to bring peace, fortune and happiness in their lives.

Houses and temples dating from the Ming and Qing Dynasties are built along the riversides and decorated with flying eaves, carved windows, porcelain furniture, figured clay bricks, dapper gardens and small stairs leading down to the water.

Tongli can be easily explored on foot (we did that) or by taking boat cruises. We stopped for lunch in one of the little cafes along the river but Ghee could hardly eat anything and kept telling me he is not hungry. I only found out why he was not eating after we departed Tongli and he asked the driver to stop at McD for burgers - he could not put any food into his mouth because he saw some villages washing laundry upstream and downstream, some other villages were washing vegetables and chicken! Wonder how our food was prepared?

UK - Dover

The White Cliffs of Dover which lie along the shore of England beside the English Channel is an ancient and important English port. It is the port where we start our 12 days cruise to the Baltic Capitals.

Thousands of visitors are drawn to the White Cliff which is often listed as one of the top natural wonders of the world. It was used as a base for a Roman lighthouse when the Romans invaded England, and later as the location of a castle for watching over the English Channel. Although the cliffs are famous for many reasons, it is perhaps their composition that makes them most interesting.

The White Cliffs date back over 136 million years, having formed during the Cretaceous period in the Mesozoic era as the shells and skeletons of billions of tiny sea creatures fell to the bottom of the sea. As the fragments settled over hundreds of thousands of years, they formed layers of chalk, or soft white limestone that became the cliffs. As the chalk sediments built up over time, they formed the three layers of the cliffs: upper, middle and lower. The upper layer is a nodular chalk with flints. The middle is white, nodular chalk. The bottom is glauconitic marl and gray chalk. The sea constantly erodes the base of the cliffs but also washes the chalk, keeping it fresh and bright white.

UK - London

London is the city frequented by lots of travelers throughout the year for pleasure and/or for business purposes. In 2009, I did both, in July for work and August for vacation. Both visits are memorable experiences for me.

During our stay in London, we visited a number of London’s popular tourist attractions; Chinatown, The Buckingham Palace, London Eye, Westminster and we even watched the Lion King musical.

Is London's Chinatown any different from those that I’ve visited in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Manila, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Yokohama? Frankly, no because you will be greeted with Chinese style street furniture, pagodas, merchandises, food (we had most of our meals here) and there are always lots of people.

Buckingham Palace has served as the official residence for Britain’s sovereigns since 1837. It is the pride of the Monarch and is a major tourist attraction. Buckingham Palace's 19 state rooms are open to public in August and September when the Queen makes her annual visit to Balmoral. The state rooms are an epitome of luxury with the Kingdom's greatest treasures which includes the best of paintings by Vermeer, Poussin, Canaletto, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Claude, sculpture by Canova and Chantrey, some exquisite examples of Sèvres porcelain along with some of the finest representation of English and French furniture in the world. The end of the tour takes us to the south side of the Palace's garden. Having just seen Catherine’s Palace in St. Petersburg, it is very hard to be impressed by what I saw in Buckingham Palace.

The London Eye has now become one of the iconic sights of London and is the most popular paid attraction. It’s visited by over 3.5 million people a year. The wheel design was used as a metaphor for the end of the 20th century, and time turning into the new millennium. It weighs 2100 tonnes, 135m/443ft high and has capacity for 800 passengers per revolution. There are 32 capsules attached to the wheel which travels gently at a speed of 26cm per second. Each rotation takes 30 minutes in which time you can marvel at the views that span up to 40km in all directions (depending on the weather). I was told that on a clear day, you can even see Windsor Castle.

Big Ben is located at the north-eastern side of the Houses of Parliament building. Named after the tower’s largest bell, it was originally called St. Stephen's Tower. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third tallest free-standing clock tower in the world.

When Parliament is sitting at night, the light at the top of the tower will be illuminated.

The Houses of Parliament (also known as Palace of Westminster) are undoubtedly a Gothic masterpiece. In the middle of the 11th century, King Edward the Confessor had moved his court to the Palace of Westminster. In 1265 a parliament was created with two houses; the Lords and the Commons. The House of Lords met at the Palace of Westminster while the House of Commons did not have a permanent location. After King Henry VIII moved his court to Whitehall Palace in 1530, the House of Lords continued to meet in Westminster. In 1547 the House of Commons also moved here, confirming Westminster as the central seat of government, a position it still holds today. In 1834 a fire destroyed the Palace of Westminster, leaving only the Jewel Tower, the crypt and cloister of St. Stephens and Westminster Hall intact. After the fire, a competition was organized to create a new building for the two houses of parliament and the design by Sir Charles Barry and his assistant Augustus Welby Pugin was chosen from 97 entries. They created a large but balanced complex in neo gothic style and incorporated the buildings that survived the fire. The whole complex was finished in 1870. It includes the Clock Tower, Victoria Tower, House of Commons, House of Lords, Westminster Hall and the Lobbies.

I've always enjoyed watching Disney's animation, The Lion King. This trip, Ghee and I went to watch the Lion King musical at the Lyceum Theater while our friends watched Wizard of the Oz and Phantom of the Opera.

The Lion King musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The props are very well done and the singing, very entertaining. We had a good time.

UK - Stonehenge Salisbury

Stonehenge (literally “hanging stones”), designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site is probably the most important prehistoric monument in the whole of Britain. It stands as a timeless monument to the people who built it using basic tools such as antler picks and bone “shovels”. The construction is ingenious.

The stones used came from two sources; the smaller bluestones from the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and the larger super-hard “sarsen” stones from nearby Marlborough Downs.

Its orientation on the rising and setting sun remains a mystery. Is it simply because the builders came from a sun-worshipping culture or part of a huge astronomical calendar?

Interestingly, what we see today is only about half the original monument. Some stones have fallen down, while others have been taken away to be used for building elsewhere.

The Heel Stone (also known as "Friar's Heel" and "Sun-stone"), a rough stone, 16 feet above ground, leaning inwards towards the stone circle, lies just outside the main entrance to the henge, next to the present A344 road.

According to folk tale, The Devil bought the stones from a woman in Ireland, wrapped them up, and brought them to Salisbury plain. One of the stones fell into the Avon, the rest were carried to the plain. The Devil then cried out, "No-one will ever find out how these stones came here!" A friar replied, "That’s what you think!" whereupon the Devil threw one of the stones at him and struck him on the heel. The stone stuck in the ground and is still there. Some claim "Friar's Heel" is a corruption of "Freyja's He-ol" from the Nordic goddess Freyja and the Welsh word for track. A more simple explanation for the name might be that the stone heels, or leans.

Audio guides are complimentary and available in ten languages. To complete the journey, visit the superb gift shop and the Stonehenge Cafe on the way out.

Visit the dynamitetravels website (please click on the enclosed link) to read more about Stonehenge.
http://wwww.dynamitetravels.com/stonehenge-stone-circles-salisbury

Indonesia - Ubud Bali

My first trip to Bali is for work. This is not the first time when work is also fun! We were in Bali for an inaugural leadership meeting from May 17-20 at Maya Ubud Resort and Spa; a heaven of tranquility set amidst the verdant hills of Ubud, Bali.

Every morning at 7.30am, we gather at the lush green garden to participate in yoga exercises with the resort’s yoga master. The short exercise was so refreshing and I was immediately transported back to my “kampong” where I grew up, at peace with nature, with the sound of birds and insects in the background. Other recreational and cultural activities offered includes tennis, swimming, golf putting green, nature treks and cycling in the beautiful surrounding country side.

The resort has an infinity swimming pool, overlooking the lush tropical forest and Petanu River. The poolside was so serene, a great spot for my colleague, Leong to take his “power nap” after lunch! You can also relax and be pampered in the riverside spa, watch traditional cultural performances (on certain night) or perhaps take painting lessons in the nearby village, all of which, I do not have the time to do because of tight meeting schedule! I had to remind myself that I'm here for work 

I fell in love with the décor in the hotel. Even the toilet in our meeting room! I took pictures of it and the garden outside our meeting room as I would love to recreate the same look and feel for my home. Planning to renovate your house? Yes! You have come to right place - Bali is definately the place for home improvement inspirations, unique furnitures and home decors.

My sister reminded me to try dirty duck and pork ribs while in Bali. My first night’s dinner was at Bebek Tepi Sawah Restaurant (the name Tepi Sawah is Balinese words, which means side of the rice field) to have my first Bebek Bengil (fried crispy duck). For starter, I was served satay in a unique charcoal grill. The satay taste like the ones back home except for the sauce which is less sweet.

On the second night, our group went to the famous Dirty Duck Diner, an outdoor garden restaurant, featuring lotus ponds, large elephant leaf plants, statues and a beautiful rice field view from all around. It was first opened in 1990 and has since been serving delicious foods and providing good services in a friendly, comfortable and relaxed atmosphere. Check on dirty duck but no pork ribs as we have Muslims in our group 

Ever wonder how the name “Dirty Duck Diner” came about? Here's the story…when the owners were building the restaurant, they have thought long and hard about the name for the restaurant. They wanted a Balinese name that translated well into English. Many good suggestions came from friends, but none seemed just right. One tropical monsoon morning, when the restaurant was very close to being finished, a flock of ducks from the rice field across the road ran quacking and squawking into the restaurant and across the floor and tables. They left muddy webbed footprints all over the place. They were the restaurant’s first guests - those dirty ducks, thus the name Dirty Duck Diner!

Want to know who had dined in Dirty Duck Diner? Do the names like Mike Jagger, Sting, Chow Yun Fatt, Mrs. Megawati Sukarno Putri and Mr. Bambang Yudhoyonon ring a bell? Yes! They had dined in the restaurant.