Gd Day Mate! 30 Apr - 7 May

We finally made our way to the UK after some anticipation on the ash cloud that hovered over the UK and Icelandic skies. We got really worried. It's totally impossible that we reschedule our trip cos Alex was leaving and there was no other way of rescheduling anything at all. It was simply madness!

The tiring part was taking Emirates to London, with stopovers at Colombo and Dubai. Being my first time on Emirates, it was definitely exciting and an eye opener for me. The touch screen entertainment system was awesome! The system was very cool with high tech features (even more so than Kris Flyer). They had lotsa movies, dramas, musics, cartoons, games and you name it, they have it. They've got the latest collection of movies just waiting for you to click on it.

After some 14 hours of flight (if I don't remember wrongly) we finally landed at London airport. This is our first time to UK so we were pretty excited. I felt the chill when the winds blew past us right at the airport doorway. I wasn't expecting such weather, according to BBC weather forecast. It got me really really worried...We took a Gatwick express right to the heart of London city centre - Victoria station where the coaches, train and tube convened in one. All I wanted to do was to go indoors to hide. Hide away from the cold bitter winds. We took a short walk with some navigation around Victoria to reach our B&B Hotel Georgian. It was one of the most reasonably priced hotel in the area. It was nice, small and cosy for us. The first thing we took out was our cup noodles! We were god dead hungry. Instant noodles never tasted so good!

Above: Ever busy London Victoria and our Georgian Hotel

We began our walk back to the station to get our Oyster card. It was the multi use card that enabled us to move around the city conveniently. Much like our EZ Link card. We walked along Oxford Street, first to get a nice coat for me. Wasn't planned but no choice. Stumbled upon an H&M sweater/jacket just nice for me. When we came out and headed for dinner, it started drizzling. The weather in London was gloomy and very unpredictable. We settled for a decent meal at Garfunkels. Though the pounds had dropped to our favour, it was still considerably 'expensive' for us Asians to shop and dine in London.

Our day 2 started early with watching of the Change of Guards at the Buckingham Palace. There it was crowded and packed with tourists, all trying to take a peek at the guards. The queue and crowd formed as early as 9+ am or so, as the procedure/ceremony took place only at 11.30 am. It was bright, hot and sunny and my head was on the verge of burning! After that we headed to Big Ben via the tube and had MacDonalds for lunch. It was crowded again with tourists. Next we rushed to the Wembeley stadium off the city for Mr Lim to catch a glimpse and capture some momento shots. We then rushed to the Mdm Tussauds for the tour. It was (according to Mr Lim) much larger than the one in HK and more impressive. I bet. It was again an eye opener for me and I was glad we made the trip to Mdm Tussauds. After the tour, it began to rain again. How dampening. It practically rains everyday. We walked along the streets in Leicester Square and came to Chinatown somehow. Had our dinner there and began walking again. By then I was too cold shivering from the weather than nothing interested me anymore.

Above: The Changing Guard ceremony and Big Ben

The Wembeley Stadium (look at the differences in the sky within a day!)

This is truly a wax figure

It rained again the next morning. We visited the impressive Natural History Museum the next day. We queued for about an hour in the rain, and it was very cold. Most of the museums in London are free, as part of the Government's effort in educating the public about the artefacts and the history behind them which I thought was great. It was enriching and fruitful for us both. The scale of the exhibitis, the extent of the breadth and depth of the content and the upkeeping of the items greatly wowed us. After the tour, we headed to Covent Garden but nothing fancied me. What was enticing really was the Pizza we had at Covent Garden, restaurant called Pintti. It was large and tasty! It was a good pizza I must say. After a hearty meal, we made our way to Harrods at Knightsbridge (if I don't recall wrongly) The department store was huge! Magnificently huge and organised with class! Range of goods are fairly expensive and high end. I could only browse thru most of them. I bought several stuff from Harrods merchandise store and couldn't tell the time after that. Having some time on hand, we took the tube to view the London Tower Bridge. It was very chilly and I couldn't tolerate the bitter weather! The wind froze my face and my mucus couldn't stop flowing. After some picture taking we quickly head back to London Victoria. Dinner was back at Victoria station @ The Shakespeare, where we tried the British favourite of Fish & Chips. It had alot of peas which I hate but the overall dish was not too bad.

The Tower Bridge

We got up reallllly early on Mon morning to make our way to Victoria station again, this time to take a cab to Marble Arch Hotel to join the Insight Tour. First sightseeing stop was Cambridge University. Yes, where all our GCE O and A Level papers are marked, assessed and developed. The campus certainly didn't look like a campus. It still maintained its rich heritage, with a cathedral in it, and modernised with lots of retail outlets in there, making it look like a small town on its own. Only bicycles are allowed on campus. Brands of shops are similar to brands you can find outside so that's why I say it certainly doesn't look like a campus. What's funny and interesting was the change in weather again. It suddenly rained, and rained hail. It was my first time experiencing this and it's truly memorable. I didn't realise it was hailstones until one tourist exclaimed it was hailstones, and umbrellas started flipping over in response to the heavy winds and rain. We continued our journey to York and put up a night there.

A pasty shop in the Cambridge campus

We began our journey early in the morning to head to Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. The borders was so seamless that I almost missed the signboard indicating "Welcome to Scotland" I managed to quickly fire a shot that captured this in time. Scotland is a beautiful place. It is smaller than Britain but a fine city that's not too crowded like London and maintained its charm anyhow. We only had a day in Scotland before we head back to Britain the next day, to Liverpool. Of course on our way back we passed Lake District where we had a nice lunch in a little cafe, with beautiful al fresco dining.

Upon reaching Liverpool, instead of joining the Beatles tour, we headed straight for Goodison Park, before heading to the mall to get the Everton merchandise.

Mr Lim's favourite team

The next day, we visited Chester, followed by Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare. Still very cold then..

By the time we reached London it was almost evening. Our place at Hyde Park wasn't too bad.

Not too bad an apartment at 75 pounds per night

Only gripe I had was the bed and the pillows were too soft for my comfort. Other than that it was perfectly alright for me. It was only 5 min walk to the Queensway/Baywater train station, and 5 min walk to the stretch of road with eateries. Alot of Asians hung out there, with many Chinese/Cantonese restaurants in the vicinity. We settled for duck rice/wanton noodles for 2 nights there (Gold MIne and Four Seasons).

The Fried Rice never tasted so good

We could not even let go of a second to shop in Oxford Street again on our last day. I bought many things from Marks & Spencer (2 pound hand cream, 2 pound body lotion and 2 pound bath gel), H&M items and several others. We took a cab to London Victoria again this time to take the Gatwick Express back to the airport and say byebye to London. The most annoying thing was BA was delayed for 2-4 hours that pissed many of us off. Then there was a hysterial screaming hyperactive kid who could not stop running, screaming and crying for attention. After waiting impatiently, we finally got on our plane to make our way home...

it was a long tiring journey..

Let Me Fly to UK

My trip to UK on 30 April has been booked, paid and prepared, until one fine day when Eyjafjallajokull at Iceland decided to spew its pent up anger on Mother Earth. The last time this volcano erupted was 20 March (a minor one) and prior to that, in 1823! And of all time, some 200 years later it had to erupt now on 14 April 2010, 2 weeks before my flight. This eruption threw volcanic ash several kilometres up in the atmosphere which led to air travel disruptions and major monetary losses (going by the billions) worldwide starting on 15 April 2010, including the closure of airspace over most of Europe. Most of the airlines likes Qantas, SQ, KLM were banned from flying to Europe. And that includes my flight, Emirates as the London airports are now closed! Travellers were left stranded in airports all over the world as they are unable to make their way back to their country. My sympathy goes out to the victims.

Image on how thick the ash cloud was! (google)

The icing to the situation was that the ash was said to be clearing up and according to the geologists study, the ash cloud will be moving towards Canada. Some airlines have also progressively started to operate in limited zones. That is certainly good news for me. But till then, I can only hope and hope that my trip can materialise without delays and inconvenience.

Bintan Agro 17 18 April 2010

What could be better than a $168 weekend getaway, with the company of some good friends? The deal was perfect! $168 for a 2D1N stay a Bintan Agro Beach Resort, consisting of return ferry, transfers, breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were all excited and geared up for it! I deserved a good break after my back and neck breaking Topping Out Event in April.

Having the Welcome Drink

I woke up really early at 620am. Sky was dark and I was feeling very groggy. Had a quick shower and was on my way to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. I saw Joyce first and reckoned Mandy and the rest would be late. We decided to have a quick breakfast at Kiliney. Before we knew it, the gang was already queueing to get the ferry tickets!

It was a gruelling 2 hour ride in the ferry with no air con (or hardly!). To while my time away, I listened to my mp3 on some of my fav songs... took a short nap and we were at the Bintan ferry terminal. The other parts of Bintan like the Nirwana, Bintan Lagoon Resort were only an hour away. This one was further south and took slightly longer than usual. Thought that was it. Hot and stuffy ride. The mini bus ride to the resort was even worse! Small, cramp, limited seats and practically no air con! Jayce and Jo had to be escorted to another mini bus as ours was full! The ride to the resort was 1 hour, all bumpy, stuffy and uncomfortable. My only hope was that the resort would be something nice and clean. Something worth going for.

True enough the place wasnt too bad. It was quite new. We had the pool and restaurant just right outside our rooms. The place was rather quiet and not so commercialised. The room was decently equipped. Simple and clean. Everyone was tired after the long ride and decided to take a short nap after lunch...

The pool with the sea behind it

Before we knew it, when everyone woke up, it was late and we totally missed the water sports! How sickening! It was quite disappointing as the tide was low and the centre was closed for the day. We then decided to take a further rest before heading to Sun Moon Kelong Restaurant for a nice dinner. It was good. Simple yet delicious. We had a foot spa thereafter by the beach, that wasnt so much like a foot spa. The foot massage only lasted like 5 min and the rest of the time was spent filing and polishing our toe nails! All we wanted was a food massage.. And to make things worse, the Korean group had some sort of a company retreat with speeches, loud blasting music and karaoke that irritated all our nerves by the beach. By the time it ended, our session also ended. And with mozzie bites. The only thing good was the sky was clear and we saw many many stars... we were 'star struck'.

Water sports at the beach

Scrumptious Lunch at Sun Moon Kelong Restaurant

Walking on the sea during low tide

Come morning Jo rang us to say Jayce wasnt feeling well and had to head back to Sg earlier to see the doc. We brought forward our massage and forgo our water sports activities. Awww... whats a beach holiday without frolicking in the sand and indulging in some fun water sports? Anyhow, we all wanted to come back earlier. So after the 1 hour massage (originally from 2 hours), we had a marathon shower and boarded again the tiny, cramp and stuffy bus back to the terminal. The 2 seater chairs like a 1.5 seater, seemed more appropriate for 1 pax. I was half falling off my chair throughout the journey. The ferry ride again was stuffy.. we were ALL perspiring our way back.

We were all so relieved to step into the customs area where the aircon never felt so good! After passing through the customs and Xray machines, we almost fainted looking at the taxi queue. After queueing for half n hr, and making countless calls to taxi companies who always claimed there were no cabs in that area, Joyce and I decided to take the SBS bus instead to Tanah Merah MRT station.

Overall rating for this trip: 6 / 10

...

Escapade to Thailand

Part I - Ko Samet

Ko Samet is a relatively small island off Rayong province, about 3 hr drive from BKK. It sounds crazy cos t

his is my 2nd trip to Thailand this year, in 1 month! After much search, planning and recommendation from a friend, I shortlisted Ko Samet as my little getaway before I embark on a new career this week.

Map of Ko Samet

The journey to Samet island is long and tedious but definitely worth it if you want fine sand beach with clear blue waters. I started off by taking Thai airways to BKK international airport. I took a 3 hour gruelling bus ride at the Public Transportation Centre to Rayong after touching down at the airport at 940am and catching on the 1040am bus. The fare cost me 120 baht (about SGD $5). The public bus is old but clean and decent enough for this price. Initially I was rather disturbed when I boarded the bus full of local Thais. I felt outcast. But after some time I got accustomed to it. The cleanliness of the bus mattered more.

Public Transportation Centre

Upon reaching Rayong, a female driver came up to us offering a ride to Ban Phe Pier. It was a new private salon car and I guessed she was not a licensed taxi driver. She charged us 200 baht for a 20min ride. It was 1.40pm. We were stopped midway by a police. Apparently she got caught ferrying customers when she was not a licensed driver. After much talking and shoving away my cash in hand, we concluded that we were her 'friends' and she was helping to ferry us to the pier. It was a close shave.

At Ban Phe Pier there were several vendors offering ferry and speedboat services to the Samet island. We opted for the 300 baht speedboat that only took us 15min compared to ferry that can take 45 min. And with that, you would need to take a taxi to the resort as it stops by the main pier.

True enough, the speedboat was speedy. But my first intial disappointment came when I alighted the boat and walked to the resort in water. The beach was mall and the resort looked small. I didn't expect this. And this was the only resort I could see on the land. I expected huge long beach/beaches with nicely decorated resorts dotting the island.

View of Samed Club Resort from the Pier

We checked in at the hotel main dining area. It was a small resort by the beach with one main lobby cum dining area. This is it. I tried to have positive talk with myself and tried to be optimistic about it. There could be other beaches further down, from what I understood from the internet resources. After checking in the porter brought our bags to our hill resort, walking past the swimming pool which I recognised from the internet. It looked exactly the same. The pool is of decent size and it's very clean. Good. It was so tempting to take a dip in the pool rightaway under the sweltering weather.

Interior of the room


We walked up a flight of stairs to the hotel room and it was a mozzie infested area. The lush greenery and plants allowed mozzies to thrive! It was a long long flight of stairs up to our room but if you want a hill resort, that's it. We washed our feet with the water readily provided outside each room before we stepped into the room. The room was hot and stuffy by the afternoon but spacious and nicely but simply decorated. After settling down, we went for a swim at the pool followed by a walk down to the 'town' area. It was about 20min walk to the 'market' where there's a 7-11 and some water sports centre. We booked a 4 hr snorkelling trip for the next day at 400 Baht. Dinner wasn't very fantastic but it was packed with tourists. I only usually go to places where there are customers. After dinner, it began to pour while we were walking back and had to hop on to a taxi back to Samed Club when it was only a mere 10min walk. There was a National Samed Park entry which is payable but we weren't sure if we could go in, so we headed back for drinks at the dinng area and retire for the night.

Morning came early at 8am with strong sunlight into the room and dining area. I expected a simple fare of breakfast with only coffee/tea and some bread with jam. I was quite plesantly surprised to see a wide array of food selection. They have scrambled eggs, fried eggs, french toast, fried noodles/congee, fried rice, breakfast cereals, different types of breads, croissants, soft roll and juices. I was delighted! I took about 3-4 slices of toast bread cos it was simply too delicious to resist. Having breakfast by the beach was sure a welcoming and inviting experience which I've never done before. The sun rays were very strong but it didn't deter me from enjoying my breakfast there.

Shortly after, the vendors from the snorkelling centre picked us up in their motorbikes to the pier. It was a normal ferry with 8 of us on board, plus 2 other snorkelling assistances/boat drivers. We went round the Samet island and had 2 diving spots.

Splash! The water was salty but it was a good experience to dive from the boat. The Caucasians on the boat dived from the 2nd level upper deck. I chickened and dived from the first deck and it took me 5min to pluck my cuorage to do so, even with my life vest on. After splashing into the water, I realised it wasn't so difficult after all! The fishes swam around me but away from me quickly after anyone dives into it. Snorkelling is actually quite tiring for me but it was an experience after all. To see the different fishes in the water. The corals were not fantastic and I'm not a big fan of corals. They scare me with their brown looking rocky surface. After about 30min of snorkelling and swimming, we had a bbq lunch on board. Simple fried rice with chicken kebab and fruits. Fishing was next. I caught 2 fishes and all the fishes caught were bbqed on board. Next we went on for our 2nd snorkelling spot, which by then I was very drained from swimming. We rounded up the tour with a visit to the fish farm. We bought fishes for 10baht where we could throw in and feed the fishes. They attacked the fish like monsters!

By 4pm we were very very tired. We relaxed by our small private beach and enjoyed a book. And by that I truly mean private beach because there was no one else there by Samed Club guests. Now I begin to appreciate Samed Club!

At night, we ventured to town again and this time we walked into the National Park. We didn't really have to pay to go in as what everyone did. We discovered new haven. Pubs and restaurants lined the area like it's a new haven! It's very different from the outside road where there were only small stores, small restaurants, cafe houses, internet cafes and a single road where there were motorbikes and pedestrian walking. Old and small dwellings were everywhere. So coming here to this place, Sai Kaew was definitely an eye opener. We walked along the stretch of restaurants and settled on Ploy Talay Seafood Place. It was crowded with Korean and other Caucasian tourists. Variety of seafood wasn't too bad and they had other dishes as well. Dinner only cost about 600 baht for 2, including tiger prawns, rice, meat and vegetable dishes and several drinks. Dinner is on tatami on the mat, on the beach. Nice experience. There was live entertainment (fireman show and a live band) The fireman show was impressive. The boys were young and did daily fireshows to entertain the crowd at night. We both tried the pancakes (crepe) and roti pancakes (pratas) with chocolate nutella and bananas. They are simple crepes but they taste so good! And everyone puts on weight during holidays. This is no exception.

We rented a full day ATV for 1200 baht for 24 hours. We took the map and rode down to Ao Wong Duen, another beach on Samet island. Apparently there are 14 beaches on the island and price range vary quite drastically for different standards of resorts on the island. After seeing other resorts, I'm actually very appreciative and happy with Samed Club. I think it offers a very good service and though it's small, it is clean, with a private beach. There are not many tourists here on this private beach. It's yours to use! And there aren't any peddlers hovering around you. There is only one single road to drive in the island so it wasn't very difficult to figure out the locations of the other beaches. However it can get quite dirty with the pool of mud dirt and soil during the ride.

Enjoying Orange Shake by the beach

The sand at Wong Duen is fine soft and powdery! It's nice to walk on soft sand but it was too hot. The water is clear and turqoise blue against the blue sky. The waves hugged the shoreline and I bobbed in the waters when the waves round in. It was fun! That day was a cloudless day. There were many tourists on this beach and it seemed like the town has come alive amidst all the muddy dirt tracks outside, hardly with a soul. Everyone packed the beaches with the various beach houses there. Here there are numerous beach huts offering food drinks, a few convenience store and food peddlers strolling up and down the beach selling fresh cut fruits, sarongs and massage services. Caucasians were everywhere, and hardly any Chinese Asians. I was among the rare few. I got a good tan for about an hour or two before heading to Sai Kaew Beach (the place where we had dinner).

After another 15min ride through the dirt and grime, we were at the same spot where we had dinner. It looks stunningly different from night. All deck chairs lined the beach and Caucasians lie on the beach chairs or towel on the sand, enjoying a good rub of massage under the sun. The sun was scorching but everyone enjoyed it. I took a couple of mins of swim in the sea and a couple of moments under the beach umbrella. You could also get tanned even hiding under the shade. I applied numerous layers of dark tanning oil and face sunblock, and baked myself in the sun again. By night, I was dark and tanned. Slightly burnt but worth it.

Dinner was again at Ploy Thalay but we had different food this time. We booked a minivan under Suriya Tour for our bus back from Rayong to BKK city. That cost us 250baht for 3 hour ride. We rode the ATV back to hotel and we packed our things ready to check out on Fri morning 12pm.

On Fri mornng, It was time to bid Samed Club and Ko Samet farewell after spending 2.5 days there. I must say I still prefer Samed Club now after seeing other resorts. I would give it a 4 out of 5 :)

We had a long 20 min wait for the VIP coach to arrive Suriya Tour office, but it wasn't so VIP afterall. The bus reeked of urine and it was not as good as I had imagine. I endured the torturous 3 hour ride and soon enough we reached BKK city. As always I was very frustrated with the jam and decided to alight at one of the BTS and take the BTS to SILQ. I'm not one who would tolerate jams and waste my time and money that way. It was defintely faster to walk or take BTS.

Part II - Bangkok

SILQ is not easy to be located as it is out of your sight as you walk along Soi 19. It's located behind Sacha's Uno and CIty Lodge from ASOKE BTS . According to the net, it is a new boutique hotel. Captured by the modernity and location of it, I booked it almost immediately after comparing with a few others. The price factor (67 baht per room per night w/o bfast) sounded like a good deal to me. It is modern with flat screen tv, fully equipped bathroom, numerous cable TV stations, spacious, clean, neat and nicely decorated. I would strongly recommend this place.

Dining area

Main lobby

Room that got upgraded

And since this is my 2nd trip to BKK in 3 weeks, I know my way inside out and I know my bearings pretty well. From one BTS or MRT to another, it seemed so easy like going to Orchard Road. And a good tip to note, avoid cabs and tuktuks if possible. Cabs are always stuck in jams, and some drivers don't understand English well. Tuktuks are relatively more expensive so it's economical to walk from one point to another. I walked from Ratchathewi BTS to Amari Watergate for tailor made clothes, and walked another 20min to Central World. From Central World I walked through Siam Square to get to MBK. It's all very possible. And it's good if you want to walk, stop and shop and randomly enter into any malls. Sometimes after all the heavy snacking and dining you need to walk to shed them off.

Total damage: about $900 SGD approx

Pleasure derived: Priceless

Central Europe Tour 25 May - 6 June 07

This is one of my other super delayed blog entry :S

It was a Central Europe Tour to Czech Republic and Austria via QF/BA that we planned on our own. It was painstaking as we had lotsa maps to read, plan and analyse. We even scrutinised each bus route, where it would take us and the various opening hrs of the musuems and such.

We took a flight and transit in London before heading to Vienna. The massvie delay at Heathrow airport for 8 hrs ruined our entire plan. The 8 hr delay made us really tired and restless at the not-so-efficient and cracky airport. We loitered around aimlessly, watched people go by and wasted our time away...

When we reached Vienna, it was dark. We made our way to Innsbruck the next morning lugging our luggages along. Innsbruck is like a small town. You can easily cover it within a day or two.

Some of the key highlights:

The Golden Roof, Innsbruck

The Golden Roof is a landmark in Innsbruck, Austria built in 1500. It was decorated with 2657 fire-gilded copper tiles for Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. The reliefs on the balcony show coats of arms, symbols and other figures in his life. (Wikipedia)

Swarovski Gallery

This is every girl's favourite (not diamonds but crystals)

My prized posessions :P

Traditional Austrian dish (chicken)

It was quite expensive for a lunch but yummy though!

Typical meal would cost like this:

Chicken or beef builion 2.60 EURO

Chicken soup - traditional style with noodles 4.10 EURO

Hungarian Goulash soup - 4.10 EURO

Roast Pork 8.50 EURO

Grilled Beef 10.90 EURO

and this is an ordinary restaurant, not something very fancy.

Our accomodation : Hotel Der Salzburger Hof

Below: Salzburg is the birthplace of Mozart.

Below: It was snowing on the mountains in Salzburg, but bright and sunny at the foot of the mountain (Hellbrunn Palace). Strange!

Park at Hellbrunn Summer Palace

The Sound of Music Pavilion

Below: Scholoss Leopoldskron (A scene used in The Sound of Music)

Fortress Hohensalzburg

View of Salzburg from Fortress Hohensalzburg

Train station in Salzburg to Vienna

It was very cold though it was spring time...

Belvedere Palace, Vienna

Be prepared for long walks as the palaces are pretty huge and vast. Viewing of the entire place could take up to an hour or more.

Ferris Wheel at Vienna Prater

Vienna's Prater boasts more than 250 attractions: from the Giant Ferris Wheel (Riesenrad) to nostalgic ghost trains, merry-go-rounds, go-cart rinks, arcades, and stands for games of skill to ultra-modern rides that propel your adrenaline (and yourself) to lofty heights. (but dont set your expectations too high)

St Stephen's Cathedral

Blue Danube River, Vienna

Remember the classical music.. or the commercial with the furry cat on tv?

Czech Republic
We arrived Czech Republic via Eurail. Pretty fast and smooth... and we didn't even realised we had crossed the border! Don't fall asleep as you need to get your passport chopped and checked..

Lotsa food stock up...

We took a stroll down the Old Town. Almost half n hr... take it as a leisure walk and you won't feel it's tiring :)

The Astronomical Clock

The Prague Astronomical Clock or Prague Orloj is a medieval astronomical clock located in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The Orloj is mounted on the southern wall of Old Town City Hall in the Old Town Square and is a popular tourist attraction. The Orloj is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; "The Walk of the Apostles", a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. (Wikipedia)

Prague Castle

It was a dark and gloomy weather. Hence the pictures were not so perfect. The Prague Castle, an ancient symbol of the Czech lands, is the most significant Czech monument and one of the most important cultural institutions in the Czech Republic. The Prague Castle was most likely founded in around 880 by Prince Bořivoj of the Premyslid Dynasty (Přemyslovci). According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Prague Castle is the largest coherent castle complex in the world, with an area of almost 70,000 m². A UNESCO World Heritage site, it consists of a large-scale composition of palaces and ecclesiastical buildings of various architectural styles, from Roman-style buildings from the 10th century through Gothic modifications in the 14th century. The famous Slovenian architect Josip Plečnik was responsible for extensive renovations in the time of the First Republic (1918-1938). Since the Velvet Revolution, the Prague Castle has undergone significant and ongoing repairs and reconstructions.

Charles Bridge in the foreground with Castle behind

Charles Bridge

Paintings, souvenirs and artefacts are common on the Charles Bridge, mainly targetting the tourists.

View of Prague from Petrin Tower

Traditional Czech dish (pork with blue cheese)

Cesky (outskirts in Czech)
Český Krumlov is a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, best known for the fine architecture and art of the historic old town and Český Krumlov Castle. Old Český Krumlov is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was given this status along with the historic Prague castle district. (Wikipedia)

Traditional Czech dish (roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut)


Czech Beer (Budweiser)

Hotel in Prague (SGD 88 per room per night for 3 of us)

End of tour.