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What's new in 2009? > Jordan, Mongolia & Philippines!
1st Half >>> Tug of Wars
January
January
The year began with a bang... the long awaited trip to Jordan looked set to blast off & indeed it did, with a bang from Israel! Darn, the Israelis started a war on Gaza!
Cursing & swearing with uncertainties, I headed my way to Hong Kong where I boarded the Jordanian Airlines flight to Amman on Jan. 6. How did it all happened? It's a tug of war for me to take this faraway trip, one which I had been looking forward to since the days of Raiders of the Lost Ark! A war? OMG! So close & yet so far! Should I or should I not go? Oh, darn! Despite the misgivings & uncertainties & perceived risks, I went ahead.
It was all calm when I landed early morning in Amman. Dead quiet, the entire world was sleeping! So near (to Gaza) & yet so far! Thank God!
Soon enough, I was on King's Highway & the Palestinian driver (yes, of all people, strange how life turns out sometimes ;-)) took me to Mt. Nebo, Kerak & on course to Petra! The long awaited Petra, it's been what? 20 years since I had that desire to go! What a long wait it had been. & it'll take another few hours of sleep before I will get to the 2 day adventure of the times! After a good night sleep, I couldn't wait & rush my way to Petra. It was early & yet it's already crowded with tourists from all over the world. I wanted a ride on a horse & had the first taste of what it's like here in Jordan. Always had fancied being on horses but never did have much of an opportunity having been staying in big cities most of my life. Well, my dream finally came true. Both, in fact. Being on a horse & coming to see Petra.
In fact, I had no idea what Petra is truly like except for that facade (the Treasuries) which we are all probably familiar with (after having seen hundreds of those pix on traditional media or via the internet). After my short excitement of being on a horse (it was truly cool and I'd try it again if I've the chance; my dream this time would entail riding a horse on the rim of a crater or lake), the walk on winding paths through the Siq is quite a journey in itself. I love the colors of the rocks (as I've had been since visiting the Grand Canyon, Canyonlands & the many canyon national parks in the U.S.) and was treated to a display of natural work of arts.
The next morning, I went up on the back of a donkey (again, my 1st, although poor donkey has to go about 800 steps!) to the Monasteries. Here, we are greeted with some of the best sceneries of this country. It was a pleasure up here high on the mountains, having some picnic and enjoying the breeze among great vistas. I met lots of travelers from all over the world up here. Since Petra is now one of the new 7 wonders of the world, the world is now rushing to pay a visit! Indeed, it is a very special wonder! I love it here!
After the first 2 nights, I'm ready for even more adventure. Jordan is proving to be much more than I've thought. Leaving for Dead Sea, enroute I visited Little Petra & Wadi Rum. A night at Dead Sea Marriott proved to be much needed & relaxing. I then enjoyed The Spa at the Marriott with a Mud Spa. It was an entire new experience having black mud from the Dead Sea all across the body. Revigorating & rejunevating.
February
After the excitement in January, February turns out to be a mild month with Chinese New Year in Shanghai, a day trip to Zhouzhuang after days of pouring... my sis joked that I haven't got enough of the rain since I took a trip to a watertown instead! It was a beautiful day at Zhouzhuang though, just perfect. The month ended with a stopover at Shenzhen before heading back to Singapore for work. My 2 year stint in China finally ended after a stopover in Shenzhen. Will I be back again? Sure!
Cursing & swearing with uncertainties, I headed my way to Hong Kong where I boarded the Jordanian Airlines flight to Amman on Jan. 6. How did it all happened? It's a tug of war for me to take this faraway trip, one which I had been looking forward to since the days of Raiders of the Lost Ark! A war? OMG! So close & yet so far! Should I or should I not go? Oh, darn! Despite the misgivings & uncertainties & perceived risks, I went ahead.
It was all calm when I landed early morning in Amman. Dead quiet, the entire world was sleeping! So near (to Gaza) & yet so far! Thank God!
Soon enough, I was on King's Highway & the Palestinian driver (yes, of all people, strange how life turns out sometimes ;-)) took me to Mt. Nebo, Kerak & on course to Petra! The long awaited Petra, it's been what? 20 years since I had that desire to go! What a long wait it had been. & it'll take another few hours of sleep before I will get to the 2 day adventure of the times! After a good night sleep, I couldn't wait & rush my way to Petra. It was early & yet it's already crowded with tourists from all over the world. I wanted a ride on a horse & had the first taste of what it's like here in Jordan. Always had fancied being on horses but never did have much of an opportunity having been staying in big cities most of my life. Well, my dream finally came true. Both, in fact. Being on a horse & coming to see Petra.
In fact, I had no idea what Petra is truly like except for that facade (the Treasuries) which we are all probably familiar with (after having seen hundreds of those pix on traditional media or via the internet). After my short excitement of being on a horse (it was truly cool and I'd try it again if I've the chance; my dream this time would entail riding a horse on the rim of a crater or lake), the walk on winding paths through the Siq is quite a journey in itself. I love the colors of the rocks (as I've had been since visiting the Grand Canyon, Canyonlands & the many canyon national parks in the U.S.) and was treated to a display of natural work of arts.
The next morning, I went up on the back of a donkey (again, my 1st, although poor donkey has to go about 800 steps!) to the Monasteries. Here, we are greeted with some of the best sceneries of this country. It was a pleasure up here high on the mountains, having some picnic and enjoying the breeze among great vistas. I met lots of travelers from all over the world up here. Since Petra is now one of the new 7 wonders of the world, the world is now rushing to pay a visit! Indeed, it is a very special wonder! I love it here!
After the first 2 nights, I'm ready for even more adventure. Jordan is proving to be much more than I've thought. Leaving for Dead Sea, enroute I visited Little Petra & Wadi Rum. A night at Dead Sea Marriott proved to be much needed & relaxing. I then enjoyed The Spa at the Marriott with a Mud Spa. It was an entire new experience having black mud from the Dead Sea all across the body. Revigorating & rejunevating.
February
After the excitement in January, February turns out to be a mild month with Chinese New Year in Shanghai, a day trip to Zhouzhuang after days of pouring... my sis joked that I haven't got enough of the rain since I took a trip to a watertown instead! It was a beautiful day at Zhouzhuang though, just perfect. The month ended with a stopover at Shenzhen before heading back to Singapore for work. My 2 year stint in China finally ended after a stopover in Shenzhen. Will I be back again? Sure!
March
A short weekend trip to KK (aka Kota Kinabalu) to visit my friend Shirley and to sample some of the best seafood in this region.
April
Back to East Malaysia again, this time to Sarawak's capital Kuching. My first time here and made a new friend Jenny who showed me around the colonial-styled city as well as checking out the Orang Utan, native of this region. Had a fun time here. Will be back in future, hopefully real soon!
2nd Half >>> A New Life
August
After many months of work and tying up things at the office, I finally took time off to see Mongolia, a country that I've been wanting to see fo rmany years. Hurray! I made it to Ulan Bator! It's my first time to this country although it's a mere 2 hour flight from Beijing. The air ticket was expensive for such a short flight, possibly due to the airline monopoly (only Air China and Mongolia Airline serve this route). Nonetheless, I was glad I finally made it here. There were quite a few times I had almost made it here but had to cancel the trip last minute!
Ulan Bator has to be one of the ugliest and most polluted cities in the world that I've visited! Due to the language barrier, no one clearly speak English, Chinese or any other European languages, I was quite apprehensive when first arriving. The Mongolians look very Korean though, so that took off some sense of fear. Good hotels are very rare here and ultra expensive. Since I'd be resigning from my job soon, I decide to save a little by putting up in a hostel (operated by a Mongolian Russian lady who spoke quite a few languages). It was the bare minimum although people are very helpful and friendly there. Here, to my amazement, I met lots of Europeans who were in Mongolia mostly for a trip to the Gobi Desert. Since I had been to Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia end, I decided to skip a trip out to "nowhere". I've heard the conditions are truly tough out there but most of the Europeans enjoyed the different kind of lifestyle for a week or so.
In any case, I spent some 3 nights at the hostel and the last night at Kempinski Ulan Bator. In the days, I was checking out the city of Ulan Bator and also 2 day-excursion out to the surrounding national parks. Despite that it's only some 2 hours drive away, the suburbs were superb and truly give one a taste of the real Mongoilan life. I enjoyed both the city and day trips out of the city. They were such great contrast! However, what I enjoyed most was a cultural show on one of my evenings. This is something you should never missed when in Mongolia. Great and colorful costumes, music and dances, and throat singing! Yes, it was a great end to a short 5 day trip to Mongolia. Will I ever be back again? Most likely not. But, who's to know what the future held, right?
September
Finally, I've a chance to visit this neighboring country; so near & yet so far! Philippines is a country I'm familiar with since I was 11 when I first met my best friend Marife who's a Filipino. Yet, not until now did I managed to visit her home country! In fact, even after this short visit to Cebu (actually a mere 2 day visit) I have yet set foot on its capital! I must surely return for a 2nd visit!
Cebu is a more of a beach town than anything else. People here are friendly and most of them earn their living out of the tourism industry. This place feels somewhat like one of those Thai beach towns. Hopefully I have a chance to return in future. I certainly enjoyed the foot massage here!
This is also the month I moved back to China after an absence of 1/2 year. It's good to be back!
November
I spent a month in Toronto mid of this month finding buyer for our overseas home. Success after much unexpected surprises. After this year, it'd be a long while before I will return to this country again... I'm going to miss my friends and relatives over here in Canada!
Trips: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 < Last Trips
A short weekend trip to KK (aka Kota Kinabalu) to visit my friend Shirley and to sample some of the best seafood in this region.
April
Back to East Malaysia again, this time to Sarawak's capital Kuching. My first time here and made a new friend Jenny who showed me around the colonial-styled city as well as checking out the Orang Utan, native of this region. Had a fun time here. Will be back in future, hopefully real soon!
2nd Half >>> A New Life
August
After many months of work and tying up things at the office, I finally took time off to see Mongolia, a country that I've been wanting to see fo rmany years. Hurray! I made it to Ulan Bator! It's my first time to this country although it's a mere 2 hour flight from Beijing. The air ticket was expensive for such a short flight, possibly due to the airline monopoly (only Air China and Mongolia Airline serve this route). Nonetheless, I was glad I finally made it here. There were quite a few times I had almost made it here but had to cancel the trip last minute!
Ulan Bator has to be one of the ugliest and most polluted cities in the world that I've visited! Due to the language barrier, no one clearly speak English, Chinese or any other European languages, I was quite apprehensive when first arriving. The Mongolians look very Korean though, so that took off some sense of fear. Good hotels are very rare here and ultra expensive. Since I'd be resigning from my job soon, I decide to save a little by putting up in a hostel (operated by a Mongolian Russian lady who spoke quite a few languages). It was the bare minimum although people are very helpful and friendly there. Here, to my amazement, I met lots of Europeans who were in Mongolia mostly for a trip to the Gobi Desert. Since I had been to Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia end, I decided to skip a trip out to "nowhere". I've heard the conditions are truly tough out there but most of the Europeans enjoyed the different kind of lifestyle for a week or so.
In any case, I spent some 3 nights at the hostel and the last night at Kempinski Ulan Bator. In the days, I was checking out the city of Ulan Bator and also 2 day-excursion out to the surrounding national parks. Despite that it's only some 2 hours drive away, the suburbs were superb and truly give one a taste of the real Mongoilan life. I enjoyed both the city and day trips out of the city. They were such great contrast! However, what I enjoyed most was a cultural show on one of my evenings. This is something you should never missed when in Mongolia. Great and colorful costumes, music and dances, and throat singing! Yes, it was a great end to a short 5 day trip to Mongolia. Will I ever be back again? Most likely not. But, who's to know what the future held, right?
September
Finally, I've a chance to visit this neighboring country; so near & yet so far! Philippines is a country I'm familiar with since I was 11 when I first met my best friend Marife who's a Filipino. Yet, not until now did I managed to visit her home country! In fact, even after this short visit to Cebu (actually a mere 2 day visit) I have yet set foot on its capital! I must surely return for a 2nd visit!
Cebu is a more of a beach town than anything else. People here are friendly and most of them earn their living out of the tourism industry. This place feels somewhat like one of those Thai beach towns. Hopefully I have a chance to return in future. I certainly enjoyed the foot massage here!
This is also the month I moved back to China after an absence of 1/2 year. It's good to be back!
November
I spent a month in Toronto mid of this month finding buyer for our overseas home. Success after much unexpected surprises. After this year, it'd be a long while before I will return to this country again... I'm going to miss my friends and relatives over here in Canada!
Trips: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 < Last Trips
Jan 2009 -- China: Shanghai, Hongkong; Jordan: Amman, Madaba, Petra, Wadi Rum, Dead Sea, Aljun, Umm Quays, Jerash
Feb 2009 -- China: Zhouzhuang, Ningbo, Shenzhen
Mar 2009 -- Malaysia: Kota Kinabalu
Apr 2009 -- Malaysia: Kuching, Kota Kinabalu
Aug 2009 -- China: Hongkong, Shanghai; Philippines: Cebu
Aug 2009 -- China: Hongkong, Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanxun, Shenzhen; Mongolia: Ulan Bator
Sep 2009 -- Philippines: Cebu, Lapu Lapu
Oct 2009 -- Singapore; Thailand: Bangkok; China: Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai
Nov 2009 -- China: Shanghai; Canada: Toronto
Dec 2009 -- Canada: Toronto; China: Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong
Feb 2009 -- China: Zhouzhuang, Ningbo, Shenzhen
Mar 2009 -- Malaysia: Kota Kinabalu
Apr 2009 -- Malaysia: Kuching, Kota Kinabalu
Aug 2009 -- China: Hongkong, Shanghai; Philippines: Cebu
Aug 2009 -- China: Hongkong, Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanxun, Shenzhen; Mongolia: Ulan Bator
Sep 2009 -- Philippines: Cebu, Lapu Lapu
Oct 2009 -- Singapore; Thailand: Bangkok; China: Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai
Nov 2009 -- China: Shanghai; Canada: Toronto
Dec 2009 -- Canada: Toronto; China: Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong