2019 Showcase Gallery - Second Half

I primarily travelled regionally on short trips in the first half of 2019. The second half was a bit more ambitious with trips to further destinations to see everything from volcanos to fall colours to the desert. Cheap flights even for intercontinental long-haul travel were not difficult to find, bringing exotic places within reach at a happier price tag.

Taipei

I am a regular visitor to Taiwan, so with sightseeing pretty much covered, eating has featured increasingly higher on the itinerary. Getting good food doesn't necessarily cost an arm and a leg here, and the quality of food doesn't necessarily correlate with price.

This dessert allows the diner to customize with various toppings to their liking.

I couldn't resist some quality Japanese food though, which comes at a fraction of the price I'd pay in Hong Kong. The entire dining experience was quite pleasant with top notch customer service.

[Taipei Gallery]

Dalian

This laid-back city doesn't have the crowds or noise that is typical in other large Chinese cities. Facing the sea, seafood here is not expensive, and the cold waters make sea cucumber a local specialty. I have covered the city's extensive historic buildings and trams before, so I hovered around the newer part of town for most of this visit.

I stayed at Xinghai Square, a massive open space built in 1997 to celebrate Hong Kong's handover to China. The surrounding neighbourhood has been filling up with residentials nicely, and now there is a subway line running nearby, although frequencies are not too high despite so many passengers.

[Dalian Gallery]

Singapore

Like Taiwan, I have visited Singapore a number of times before. To keep things refreshingly new, I turned to food. Eating at a Michelin recommend or star restaurant is more affordable at lunch time. A multi-course menu could cost only SGD $50-60 before tax!

When paying a hefty price tag, each dish comes with a personal description of the contents. This one was delicious, and you could see the raw ingredient on a nice black tray right behind it for dramatic effect.

When paying a hefty price tag, the portion of food perplexingly decreases. This one offered an interesting surprise, a bit "outside the box" as the description said.

Not all poor people living in public housing face your neighbour's wall. This estate in Chinatown has lovely views of the skyline.

Many Asian cities have good urban planning museums. Shanghai is the best one I've seen, although Singapore's URA Gallery has good scale models with intricate building details. Their downtown has been extended through reclaiming the sea and they have plenty of space to build a lot more in the years to come.

[Singapore Gallery]

Surabaya

Indonesia is far more interesting than over-touristed Bali. I had made it to Jakarta and Yogyakarta in previous years, while Surabaya is often overlooked by tourists who fly in and venture out to historic Malang or spectacular Bromo. I based my stay here due to a free hotel redemption. The city is worth a full day's exploration and getting around is easy thanks to a huge selection of cheap Grab cars.

Like other great cities in the region, there is a classic colonial hotel for the bourgeoisie of the day.

There are some querky attractions, such as this Russian submarine that got a new life in the Indonesian navy. Be sure to catch the aged propaganda video about its history in the adjacent building.

Indonesia used to be a Dutch colony and there are pockets of colonial buildings scattered around the city, although some examples are crumbling.

A major reason why people come here is for Bromo, a live volcano that is famous for sunrise. I didn't want to leave at midnight for the long 3-hour drive from the city, so decided to visit during the day when the place was empty. Even before reaching the volcano itself, I was a bit alarmed to find the surrounding hillsides smouldering.

A short climb on steep staircases later, it was surreal to stare down into the volcano's opening.

Another easy day trip out of Surabaya is Malang, which itself is also a good base to explore Bromo. This town is far quieter and more pleasant, and is a simple train ride away. My biggest surprise was Kampung Tridi, a slum that has been revitalized through lots of colours, murals, and photo-friendly spots. I hope the modest admission would be put into good use for the community.

Across the street, its neighbour has a different theme entirely, painting its buildings uniformly in blue.

[Surabaya & East Java Gallery]

Kaohsiung

My 3rd trip to Taiwan in 2019 was a short 1 day trip to this city, which is trying to shake off its image as an industrial wasteland and cultural desert. I ventured out of the city centre to the Ciaotou Sugar Refinery, which has been turned into a museum with all the old equipment inside.

I left after a few hours, not one bit disappointed.

[Kaohsiung Gallery]

Toronto

October is prime time to enjoy the fall colours in this part of Canada. The air was quite chilly already and I was worried I had arrived a bit too late. Algonquin Park is one of the hotspots and is worth the long drive out of the city. With huge crowds, park officials are good at crowd control to make things more efficient, and luckily there were no traffic jams within the single highway that runs through the key viewing spots.

Spencer Gorge is also a nice spot to see the colours. It is crowded here as well so park officials keep the cars in one location and use shuttle buses to transport visitors to the hiking trails.

Without a car, High Park is easily accessible by subway and has a good forested section to enjoy the foliage.

[Toronto Gallery]

Dubai

I've transited in Middle East many times over the years, having tried the routes via Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha. Dubai is the poshest of them all and offers the best retail therapy, although I wasn't here for a shopping spree.

But the main course for my last trip of 2019 would not be here ...

Oman

This exotic country got on my radar in 2010 at the Shanghai World Expo. Their pavilion was a feast to the senses with beautiful natural landscapes set amidst the interesting scent of frankincense. My friends had told me this is an upscale destination, but with a bit more research, it actually was quite affordable even if it meant renting a car to drive the tourist circuit. I ended up clocking in just over 1000km for this trip with no speeding tickets.

Muscat, the capital, is a cruise port of call, and I was surprised to see many tourists roaming around Mutrah's bazaar alleys. Oman has been discovered and is not the off-the-beaten-track destination I had thought.

The driving itinerary around northern Oman is quite well documented and discussed online. I did the trip anti-clockwise, making stops at various historic sights along the way. The initial drive out of Muscat was busy although the highway towards Nizwa wasn't as empty as I had first thought. The first stop was Fanja.

Oman is a dry country with a lot of desert, but there is water around that fuels these date forests with an ultra-street and delicious snack as an output.

The old capital of Nizwa is a must-see and serves as a good base to explore the region. Attractions are spread out so a car is essential. Within town, their souq is clean and quite interesting, especially on Friday mornings when the animal auctions take place.

Halwa is a super sweet dessert that goes perfectly with the most bitter coffee.

While in the area, be sure to go up one of the mountains. Jebel Shams is the tallest in the country and is dubbed the "Grand Canyon" of Oman. The drive up is an attraction in itself.

Continuing east, Ibra is a good pit stop on the way back to the coast. The old town is in partial ruins and you can have the place all to yourself. Omanis place great importance on their doors, which you can still see are elaborately decorated.

There are many beautiful places worth a stop and a photo. I don't have the names for all of them, and you don't necessarily have to hike for hours to find either.

[Oman Road Trip Gallery] [Muscat Gallery]