2014 Travel Round Up

2014 – Eating & Exploring the World’s Diversity Bohol, Tanjong Jara, Taiwan, South Africa, Cambodia, Bali, Egypt & Iran

Me at Abu Simbel, Egypt – like this shot for how my head happen to cover the crumbled/damaged Rameses statue

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As 2014 closes, it is time to round up all the travels & adventures of this amazing year. Thanks to the nature of my job, I had the privilege to travel thrice for work, on top of two long personal trips and a few getaways. Excluding Malaysia & transit in Doha, I was in 5 different countries over 40 odd days. Pretty much more than 10% of the year‌no wonder everyone is saying that I am always flying!

After so much travelling, it is only fitting to do a round up, to recollect and reflect on my travels. Here are the best & also the not so wonderful memories‌complete with photos, all of my own, regardless of whether it is correct & incorrect exposure, poor or good angle & out of focus or in focus (I am still figuring out my DSLR with each journey alright!).

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Eat. Sleep. Explore.

The main 3 themes of this recollection, and possibly the only mean to unite the diversity of 2014’s travels – for

work, on leisure & company retreats, each to vastly different countries & with varying 'objectives'. It’s been such a fulfilling year that I’m so thankful I devoted much time to this project, as there were so many memories that my finite mind had to unfortunately banish so many wonderful and unforgettable ones into the deeper recesses. And that’s why I’m grateful for this writing, & the thousands of photos I have shot, for with each story & each photo, more & more of these lovely memories are dug out. Consequently, with each & more unintended stories popping out, the writing style has become a bit awkward & disjointed – so pardon me!

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EAT

EET

‫تغ دى‬

បរិេភាគ

MAKAN

吃

The process of filling one’s stomach & generating emotions of happiness Eating is an unavoidable part of life, and whenever I travel, I either dine for free or enjoy a meal at a more reasonable price than Singapore.

Here's to the memorable eating and food experiences of 2014.

Hands down, Song Saa Private Island deserves the Best Meal Award. One of 2014’s most memorable meals were the hearty seafood

jambalaya. And the fresh & sumptuous sashimi/Japanese lunch that I rushed through before departing – raw fish has never been my favourite! O, the delectable chicken sandwich that they packed for me on my way to Siem Reap (no photos unfortunately). Only the breakfast item I chose was forgettable, unfortunately, otherwise my time there is generally marked with great food, which I defined as those that conjures up feelings of happiness within (& sometimes makes me so touched I could almost cry).

Beyond food, I fondly relish that glass of white at sunset. But it was really just a forgettable sunset - that's the problem with Song Saa. There was awesome food, free wine, fairly good service but just not a very special location (to me at least) to complete the experience.

From left: Song Saa’s seafood jambalaya taken with flash as it was quite literally dining under the moon & stars light; the fresh Japanese lunch before departure from Song Saa; the dinner at Divan, again with flash due to poor lighting

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Tehran's Divan Restaurant probably deserves second place. This upscale restaurant reminds me of Hanoi's Pots & Pans (Nov 2013) in that they both serve modern fusion cuisine. And also that what I enjoyed on both occasions were a fish dish (can't remembered my fishes), though this time it was with a saffron infused risotto (rice again?!) instead of egg noodles. Fresh tasty fish grilled till a little charred for a little crunch & a slight bitterness to the taste dimension most often wins my heart. The desserts were also generally very good – a perfect end to a lovely dinner.

Deserving of mention is the 'farewell' dinner at Tanjong Jara Resort. Was it the prawns which were coated with salted egg yolk? Another love of mine is salted egg york dishes & zi char style meals due to the wide variety of different dishes to choose from.

Another meal worthy of passing mention is the fish

& chips (photos remind me they were from Lucky Fish & Chips) which my mother &

I packet up to Table Mountain. Nice fresh fish but too many bones!

La Plume's tomato sauce fusilli was nice enough to keep me going back for more to have with my main (was it grilled fish?), though sadly memories of it are faded, so the emotions of happiness didn’t lasted as long as it did in other instances.

From left: The sumptuous dinner in Tanjong Jara; fish & chips with a view at Table Mountain top; the poorly taken fusilli (the main buffet plate)

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Eat Feature One: Reviewing photos always conjure up more memories. A humble but memorable one that ought to be mentioned is the simple takeaway kota in Soweto, purchased from a tin shack & enjoyed across the street in a bus stop. Lots of thick cut fries and a couple of pieces of ham sandwiched between bread. It was such an intimately local experience that I wondered how I could have only recalled of it only after coming across the photos! We spent under 50 Rand for my mum, the guide & me – great food doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive & fanciful. And spending another 14 Rand got us two cans of cold soft drinks from the grocery store next door. A very fulfilling meal & a glimpse of what locals eat.

Clockwise from top left: Menu – no idea what French, Vienna Russian etc. meant – presumably different type of ham; the exterior & interior of this clean & simple shack; watching locals playing football across the road; one of the kota we had; my bag, our guide & my mum enjoying our lunch at the bus stop, election posters at the ‘back’

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Eat Feature Two: Again, is it travelling too much? Why do Taiwan feels so far away in memory lane? Is it because it was too short a trip?

Why was the trip only provoked voked to mind when I came across photos? In any case, it was a great gourmet trip – the country is home to my favourite

pork chop, mostlyy with rice, though noodles & an alternative deep fried version also suffice! Other than pork chops, Taiwan

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was also a place of awesome food…clockwise from top left, the breakfast we had on arrival (long queue!), smooth soya milk accompanied by some food (pastries, & if I remember correctly, youtiao stuffed with egg & something else). Then a snack bought in Jiufen, ice cream,

peanuts & chives (I think) wrapped in a thin rice/flour skin. Followed by a seafood feast of which the only memorable dish was the sumptuous fish (the one with its tail up just behind the prawns), very fresh without any bones & extremely tasty with the salt encrusted on the tail. Lastly, the “spicy” ice cream in Jiaoxi, which was actually ice cream (yam I think) topped with crunchy items of varying spiciness.

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Loosely connected to the entire eat theme is my first proper wine tasting experiences in Franschhoek. It was a wonderful full day hopping between vineyards on the Franschhoek Wine Tram since we didn’t want to afford a driver-guide & I was the drinker cum driver.

Had several good wines & it was interesting to have it done as a pairing with chocolates and with cold cut meats (Charcuterie platter), trying to appreciate how the food profile matches and enhances each matching wine character. Fairly fascinating that makes the whole process so much more enjoyable & less boring.

How about potato chips, one of my life’s beloved? Fondly remember the Caribbean Onion & Balsamic

Vinegar one in South Africa, first introduced to me because it was inside the snack box on a South African Airways flight. Carted a few packets home (which burst on board), as I loved how the subtle onion taste matched with the zesty vinegar. And I also enjoyed the Tomato flavoured one in Egypt (another zesty one!). Both not available in Singapore (at least not that I know of!).

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SLEEP

SLAAP

‫ھجوع‬

ការេដក

TIDUR

睡

A venue to rest, unwind & reflect after a day’s adventure Song Saa Private Island of course hands down has to be crowned the Top Hotel. Gorgeous & spacious over water villa with a pool deck. They deserve also a Best Sleep Award for such a comfortably lush & soft bed I just sank in and fell asleep so soundly. In fact, I dare say it was the only bed in my life that I had such a tough time climbing out of because of how comfy it was. Such a pity I only had one night there & I'll probably never bear to afford such a stay again!

La Plume should probably take the honour of being the Most Charming. The rooms were all tastefully decorated and well maintained to recreate a past era. And sitting on a slope (or a hill?), it overlooks the farmlands of Oudtshoorn stretching towards the mountains not too far away. Quiet and remote location – there is such a liberating sense of space.

Alexotel can take the unique prize of Most Potential Hotel. There is a fine line between eclectic and charming. Different random but similar object creates an eclectic and disjointed room décor. But with taste and more effort to match all the items, a charming room could have been created. There is that sense of potential to more tastefully dress the room in a more standardized concept.

One case in point: The location of the room on my first night was quite nice, if only they had made good use of the space layout to open out into the surrounding European style buildings and the cathedral next door. Most disappointing was the absolute lack of sound proofing, every morning it was so hard to sleep in once all the honking starts. Otherwise, every other aspect is fine – not luxurious, it is merely a small hotel within a residential building, functional with an okay breakfast (well, Egypt hotels’ breakfasts were never to my taste anyway).

Shinta Mani Club in Siem Reap surprisingly slipped my mind, even though it is easily my most favourite in Siem Reap. A very tastefully designed chic boutique hotel complemented with excellent friendly service on par with all the big brands.

Best View Award goes to Le Meridien Pyramids, with a balcony opening up to a clear straight view of the pyramids. It was so nice to just sit in my room & simply admire the pyramids.

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From top left: Overwater villas of Song Saa Private Island, followed by photos of the spacious & luxurious interiors

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Top: The lovely countryside property of La Plume; interior of the charming room we had. Bottom from left: Problem with work trips, you end up so tired of photographing rooms, that you have photos of every area except the beds; view of the balcony from Le Meridien Pyramids.

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Top & Right: View from my first night room – other the foreground, & the poor maintenance, it does provide a little feel of Europe, doesn’t it?

Bottom: The eclectic room on the second night which could have been better furnished

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The last award is the Most Contradictory Award, belonging to all the Iran hotels, except Tehran’s Espinas. In Shiraz, Yazd & Esfahan, the best hotels all had public areas which generally look quite nice & even beautiful (classy even, in the case of Abassi Hotel), but the rooms are a complete different story. Dated looking, old fashioned, and not tasteful or luxurious at all to deserve 5 stars!

From left: Reception area of Hotel Abassi, very grand & classy looking, with an underwhelming & boring room that looks outdated Well, since space permits, I ought to mention our basic but lovely & uniquely designed minsu (guesthouse) in Jiufen, Taiwan. Every room is differently but definitely much more tastefully designed than Alexotel in Alexandria.

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EXPLORE

VERKEN

‫استكش اف‬

探

The act of discovering and learning a new destination, country, city or site Fondest Site 2014 belongs to the Temple of Edfu, belonging to Horus, the falcon god. Though photos provoke little memories, I recall what I enjoy of this temple was the overall well preserved state along with its tranquility with me being almost literally the only visitor.

Plus the majestic falcons, and probably most importantly, the long stretch of walk from the entrance before arriving at the temple proper, are all factors contributing to this being one of my most favorite sites in 2014.

Top: Overview of the temple foreground and the temple pylon Next page top left: Reliefs adorning the wall along the stairs leading to the roof, where my not so good memory recalls it is where Horus has to be brought to for a few days each year to be sunned and receive new power (yes, this link confirms my memory: “The statue of Horus would be taken from here up a flight of stairs to the roof terrace where it would be recharged by the sun during the Festival of the New Year”) ; next page bottom left: one of a set of the reliefs depicting Horus chasing & then spearing evil uncle Seth, who had turned into a hippopotamus to escape, before bringing him before the gods for judgment. In this relief/frame, Cleopatra is depicted leading a welcome party to receive the triumphant Horus, one of the most intriguing scene because since when was Cleopatra & Horus contemporaries (?!) [of course it is propaganda]; next page right: another reason why this temple won my heart, the lighting creates an air of mystery

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Alongside the Temple of Edfu is probably the enigmatic Bayon, state temple of the Khmer civilization under one of the Jayavarmans (again, this is according to my weak memory). Photos generally didn’t turn out well due to the white sky, and the difficulty of distinctly capturing the details in the stone carvings. I recall being captivated by the hundreds of Buddha faces gazing out in all direction and all height, though the memory is surprisingly fade (travelled too much again?).

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Not sure if it's due to being distracted by the burden of work, but Persepolis was probably the Most Overrated Site. Compared to the relatively well preserved Egyptian temples, this site is a complete mess! Mostly collapsed and broken ruins, Persepolis failed to inspire and I honestly don’t see what’s so amazing about this site. Even well, most of the Cambodian temples were ruined in quite a charming manner.

Only two aspects probably warrant a visit, first the historical significance and second the pretty amazing

Nowruz

reliefs,

extremely

and

astonishingly detailed, d, capturing every small detail. detail Leaps & bounds above the generic looking Egyptian reliefs. Before the advent of miniature paintings, the reliefs were the Persian mean of capturing details of significant events. Here, in the Nowruz reliefs, every people from across the Persian Empire brought tributes unique to their region to an audience with the king. Features such as singlehumped/dromedary/Arabian and two-humped/Bactrian/Central humped/Bactrian/Central Asian camels and the vein of a nervous envoy nvoy were distinctly and amazingly recorded!

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Persepolis may have disappointed, but Esfahan or Isfahan is easily the Most Mesmerizing/Enchanting City. I really, really love this beautiful city – much more (or at least equally deserving) of a garden city title than Singapore – which is home to the world’s third largest square, the Nashe-e-Jahan Square, also known as Shah Square during pre-revolution days and nowadays Imam Square.

Let’s start with why I believe Esfahan is more a garden city than home. Their park stretching along the river (or what used to be it) feels natural, with a variety of trees

and

flowers

lining

the

pathways and complemented by the crisp autumn air. Think the cool weather played a major role in earning my admiration, as well as that plants are not grown too thick and messy, just nicely lush and green. The park is also very clean. And there are the beautiful ancient bridges spanning across both banks.

My second love for Esfahan is the Jahan Square, where honestly, if I ever had to do a marriage proposal, this will be one spot I want to do it. Again, the weather, the expanse of space and the idyllic atmosphere of the square charmed me. It was fairly crowded with locals picnicking and socializing on the green grounds but not noisy. Sitting around the square, simply admiring the buildings and mosques in the cool air was so lovely, and would have been more complete if I could have the time to read or write there plus also nap (well, I did a 5 min 'nap' & I was not the only person napping there).

Next page (clockwise from top left): A shot from Ali Qapu Palace towards Shah/Imam Mosque; a shot from where I had taken a short nap; and the mind bogglingly intricate Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque

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Temple of Dandara is worthy of mention in this section due to three distinct memories. First were the well preserved and fascinating ceiling reliefs of ancient Egyptian astronomy (?). Very colourful and fascinating to think of the Egyptians’ obsession and their attempts to record down their ancient knowledge to be able to fill up such a huge ceiling. It’s like an open canvas for them. Pure amazing.

Second distinct memory was the great fun I had with the young kids down in the tiny secret crypt.

They asked to take photos repeatedly without any request for money, a complete contrast with the sour experience I had above ground. I even allowed one of them to snap a shot on my DSLR (while I held on dearly of course).

Third was the sour experience of kids, as young as like 7, 8 years old (or maybe younger) who can afford soft drinks & snacks (and even cigarettes) and were on a day excursion since it was a public holiday (the Feast), blatantly asking me for money (what were they learning in school?). The Temple of Dandara was like their playground, could see so many of them walking over from the village nearby, all quite smartly dressed. I was surrounded by a group of them asking for a photo, and before I can snap one, they started demanding for money…I had to squeeze my way out and furiously (& fearfully) escape. After a few more disturbances while making photos out, I had to just locate my guide to escort me around. To his credit, he debated with the tourist police regarding my safety and I then had both him & an AK 47 armed police escorting me around, shooing away the kids. Pretty funny & surreal to be guarded like a multi millionaire.

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I was also privileged my explorations brought me on walking tours in Soweto, Cape Town and Phnom Penh. Both Cape Town & Phnom Penh were conducted by knowledgeable guides and were great way to learn about the cities, though for some reason, my memory of Cape Town is very much faded. In Soweto, our guide was more a local host, who simply facilitated us getting around in the local minibuses, brought us to the key sites and kept us from being lost while tramping through local neighbourhood, plus sharing some nuggets of facts.

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On the top right is a former hotel, now a residential unit with ‘illegal’ additions on the roof to accommodate more residents. Our guide brought us inside to show us what remains of the hotel & how it is like now. Bottom right photo is a decrepit building, which I think was a former government building & possibly even a police station. Now it is stuck in a long drawn battle between owners/developers bent on tearing it down and conservationists demanding it be preserved. Meanwhile, it is pretty much a squatter for some families, as the developers wait for the building to crumble by itself to rob the conservationists of any reason to protect it.

What truly fascinated me was inside this back alley shown on the left. If you look carefully, you should spot three Chinese words in the centre in between the roofs. At this area was a temple, which disappeared during Khmer Rouge era, but the roof remained and became a convenient shelter under which families built their homes.

Space does not allow me to share in details about Soweto…another wonderful long story which one can glean from my photo album. For the record, left is my Phnom Penh architectural guide (whose English was better than our main guide) and right is my Soweto guide/host with my mum and of course Mr Nelson Mandela at his former house, now a museum.

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It is a pity memory fails me even at the young age of 25. I really cannot recall the stories that Ursula delivered regarding the history and development of Cape Town, I just only know I had a wonderful time interacting with her.

My photos only inform me that we had a good walk around town, seeking out easily overlooked markers to history like how this insurance company building frontage (right) had supposedly all the major African tribes carved to symbolise it covers all Africans (or something along the line).

Other titbits of info include how Bo Kaap (above right) just happens to be colourful & not deliberately painted as such. And now I remember something – how she mention that property prices kept going up because of property investors/speculators, meaning that residents had to pay much higher tax than they can afford, and in turn many original Bo Kaap residents are now forced to move.

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Special Feature: Not sure where this should be belong…but just feel I want to do a summary of my interaction with locals throughout my travels. A random sharing of the most vivid memories…

On the left is a shot of Long Street, Cape Town, just outside of my hotel. The night before, I was walking back after satisfying my mojito craving (a cocktail I absolutely have to try whenever I see it) and almost literally from the shadows, a man came up alongside me and asked for money. Well, that’s how it’s like in Cape Town city centre unfortunately.

Of course I refused, until he said one line that stopped me in my tracks. Can’t remember the exact words, but the gist was “I could have just robbed you, but now I am just asking you nicely”, prompting me to decide to give him some cash. When pulling out my wallet and turning away, he even said something like “it’s fine, I’m not a robber”.

I kind of forgot about this incident until I was in Egypt and surrounded by moneyobsessed kids at Dandara as well as endless stream of locals coming up to ask for money. And yes, a temple keeper (or random man), who gestured me to take a photo of don’t know what before asking for money, as well as touts selling and scamming.

We always advocate not giving money to these locals so as to not cause them to be dependent on begging and cheating. Tourism students will know the usual debate that says locals should get gainful employment.

However, other than begging, do these folks have other means of feeding their families? Will they then resort to crime to achieve their means? Like in the case of the man in Cape Town who begged instead of rob. After all, for those who try to cheat & scam, at least they are trying to offer something in exchange for cash. It may be questionable how much & how they do it, but isn’t that better than stealing or robbing? It’s thus quite an enlightening experience on whether tourists should or not give. I’ll say it is personal preference. By the way, photo below Long Street is of my guide debating with tourist police regarding my safety I think. When Arabs discuss matters, you cannot tell if they are angry or just talking amicably.

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Second interaction was the walk around my hotel area in Alexandria with my guide, Amroo. One of my best photos ever, these two gentlemen, via my guide, asked to have a photo together. Just so cool. Then walking along, there is this old man and I presume his son, who also asked for their photos, & I obliged, though the lighting was very poor. It was a lovely evening walking around Alexandria, admiring the architecture with my bubbly guide and soaking up the pulse of local lives.

Local Iranians also brought much joy to my travels this year. Above three boys pestered me to snap their photos even though I was rushing to take care of my group. I also wish I have taken a photo of that extremely hospitable family at Jahan Square, who generously offered two

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fellow travellers and me a big bunch of grapes (we were just sitting around waiting for time to pass!), even though they don’t speak a word of English. So grateful to them, yet I didn’t have much on me to offer them in exchange, except for some chicken bak kwa, which was kind of embarrassing in comparison to their kindness. Their grapes were one of the sweetest I’ve tasted.

And yes, at Esfahan too, in the hotel I had a chance to take a photo with a couple of Iraqis, who also gave me some sort of bread which was also quite good. To my deepest shame, despite Iran & Iraq being neighbours, I’ve never quite thought I’ll encounter so many Iraqis in Iran…somehow they are supposed to be stuck in Iraq miserably. But no! There are rich businessmen who travel to Iran, but I simply cannot remember what trade these two were in.

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A ROUND UP South Africa

总结

is undoubtedly the best trip with the best memories &

is a country I’ll love to return too again. There was such a diversity of activities and experiences, all of which I enjoyed so much.

It was a lovely evening & morning spent with ethnic Africans in Soweto. Homely time interacting with a hospitable family & two bright young kids (left). Superb time walking through Soweto, a township that was more like a city (bigger than Singapore if memory serves me right) yet sadly without any real business or shopping district. Most had to find employment (if even any) in Johannesburg an hour away. It is somewhat a sobering legacy of apartheid.

Had also a great carefree time self driving through Garden Route, nice cool weather & majestic mountain ranges, though probably better scenery in spring? First time self-driving overseas apart from Malaysia.

Cruising along the highways, rounding mountain passes, it was great fun and pure pleasure.

And how can I ever forget the cute meerkats, such a wonderful ‘entertainment’ observing their daily morning routines in the frosty Oudtshoorn bush. First see them pop out one by one from their burrow, then line up to absorb the sun. That’s the only opportunity to capture a “family portrait”, as thereafter they will start darting about, foraging food and even fight/bite each other, all the while one meerkat will stand upright as a sentry scanning the sky (like a radar dish) for any incoming threats. Simply magical. Totally worth waking up & being frozen for.

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Top left: A typical scenery along the drive in the Garden Route (credits: my mother in the passenger seat while I drove).

Bottom left: Obviously not shot by me, by one of the guides who walked behind the meerkats to capture this shot of my mother & me.

Bottom right: The mob of meerkats we were observing (memory says there is supposed to be 10 so missing one to a complete family portrait!).

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Iran

is a close second - probably tying with South Africa had it not been such an

exhausting tour leading trip (well, people drains me – the effects were profoundly felt towards the end of the trip). Pejman, in spite of an overbearing air & over dramatization, really brought alive the rich & illustrious Persian civilization.

Through recent travels in this region, I realized more clearly that a problem with our world is that Middle East is always broadly categorized as one mega Arabian population, when they are actually all distinctly separate nations. Learning about this one distinct proud & strong people and understanding how similar yet dissimilar they really are is fascinating.

Never knew that behind the humble carpets were stories of folklore & religious beliefs. I’ll now always look at carpets in a new light. The Persians were so expressive people; their mosques were monuments of creativity while their palaces & private homes were paintings of art. Each site invokes a great sense of ‘wow’ & wonder as I marvelled at their creativity & ingenuity. There were also great poets who wisely crafted stories - the hypocrite praying cat & can't remember what else.

Or rather poems, which when recited in Persian simply sounded so rhythmical and harmoniously beautiful.

Left: Interior of the amazing Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque that took decades to complete – so many intricately decorated mosques that I guess this is the most representative shot of all these beautiful pieces of art that my vocabulary just seems so inadequate to describe.

Next page (left to right): One of the miniature paintings at Chehel Sotun Palace, chosen for the richness in colours & sharp details; interior of Borujerdi House, home of a wealthy merchant who even travelled to Europe before.

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Unfortunately, Egypt didn't make a top destination as I was too templed out. Particularly due to Abu Simbel I think. Like 3hrs each way on not too good roads plus a super early start (4 am?) combines for an extremely exhausting excursion that totally drained me just before the midpoint of the trip. However, honestly, writing this & recalling the memories does bring back feelings of fondness and a consensus within that this was still a magical trip.

And the temples, while individually fascinating in certain aspects, eventually was still too alike due to the surprising consistency of depicting the same things. Yet, this was intriguing in that the entire Egypt was such a large nation and it can easily take days (or perhaps a week) to travel between Aswan & Luxor. In addition, with most colours already faded and most reliefs defaced by early Coptics, the temples required plenty of imagination.

My hat goes out to them though, for spinning such an intricate web of mythology and beliefs on the afterlife. Even gods have relationships with one another. And it is interesting that Egyptians were on the whole not a very warring empire, except for conquering maybe Nubia (for gold & other natural resources) & perhaps Libya, they were mostly more concerned about their own internal affairs, building temples & preparing for afterlife. Maybe that's why they had so many temples still surviving. Life just devoted to building them well I guess.

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Another point that intrigued me was how temples are propaganda tools & how easy Egyptians can be convinced to obey a pharaoh by simply having some carvings made. Well, somewhat convinced since most ordinary citizens won't really bother who is the king, only the nobles & priests will care. And if the new kings worship the same god, that also means the priests can still continue to make their living as usual. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

Left: Front shot of the ruins of Kom Ombo Temple, I rather like this temple due to the duality concept, where one temple complex is shared by two gods, and that it was fairly empty. And yes, the mummified crocodiles – ancient Egyptians mummified just about everything.

Right: The extremely deep reliefs of Ramses III (not the Great) funerary temple, so deep even the pigeons could nestle in them comfortably. While the deep carvings ensured no later pharaohs could usurp his temple by erasing his cartouches, the pigeons now pose a major problem for the temple’s preservation due to their acidic shit.

One final point on Egypt riveting in my mind after touring Iran. I don’t know how to phrase this right – but Egyptians are strange in that they identify themselves as Arabs more than Egyptians. The ancient Egyptian civilization is a distant and disjointed past to them. The Arab conquest has completely Arab-ized the nation. The Arab conquest merely brought Islam into Persia…Iranians are still very much Persian.

If not for all the Western influence & the tourism, Egyptology will not be what it is today. It is like the ancient Egyptians were a former people who were in these lands, and then when the Arabs came, these Egyptians died out, and were replaced with a new Arab people.

That’s the feel I had about Egypt.

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The main reason I guess why this happened was that the ancient Egyptian culture was very much just all about their religion & beliefs.

When the Romans, followed by the Christians & later on the Muslims, arrived in the land, the entire Egyptian culture was systematically destroyed as their ancient beliefs were demonized and eradicated completely.

It is unlike the Persians, whose carpet weaving & calligraphy etc. continued to remain even when most of the country converted from Zoroastrianism to Islam. There are still connectors to their past. When in Iran, you can sense these were people with an illustrious history, who went through different eras, even a switch in state religion, but still Persian.

In Egypt, the temples, pyramids, hieroglyphics & mummification were history, no impact whatsoever on modern Egypt. There was nothing else that seemed to survive from that civilization, well perhaps papyrus making. But that was more a technique handed on & not an art. Egyptians forgot all about their hieroglyphics until the Rosetta Stone appeared. No one bothered about these ancient monuments and the winds, sands & waters eventually buried them till the fascinated Westerners came. Even at Temple of Luxor, there was a mosque building encroaching on the forecourt and even built around/over some of the pillars! Yeah, guess this is the best way to express the sense I got of Egypt. Someone else’s sharp mind may help to elucidate this thought properly though.

Tanjong Jara Resort made it into one of my fondest memories somehow. Cycling along the coast then enjoying the roti canai was good fun. Especially the coastline was somehow just so beautiful...not very special, merely a very typical SEA coast, but perhaps because the trees are sparse, thereby opening up a vast expanse of space. And the pretty colourful & shallow reef good for short-sighted snorkelers.

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Bohol surprisingly is a 'forgotten' travel. Perhaps because of a lack of 'wow' attractions? To think I was the one advocating travel there! Or was it simply because it was the first trip of the year? I very suspect it is a combination of both, though in a large part it was because it was overshadowed by many great trips. Reviewing my photos reminded me of the Cebu hotel, a boutique property that I enjoyed very much (albeit only a one night stay), yet overlooked in the earlier ‘Sleep’ section,.

Tarsiers were cute but just like that. Almost all were just sleeping on the branches, kind of deliberately placed there for tourists to view.

Not as amazing as the meerkats since they at most merely wake for a few brief moments to stare at these gawking tourists before gradually falling back asleep. Chocolate Hills was marred by rain, though interesting, it was just like that & fairly out of the way. The beaches were so-so, though the island with a tree in the middle of the crystal clear sea was pretty out of this world. And the waters there was so clear – if not for all the gear on me (so I have to stay dry), I’ll love to have wallowed in the water. O yes, Bohol was my first time in my grown up life I learn & done horse riding, pretty good experience though expensive to pursue in Singapore (& not enough time!).

Row 1 (left & right): One of the ‘posed’ tarsier peering out; A bunch of mainland China tourists with the “world famous” chocolate hills – fascinating in how these mounds of earth seemed to have been proportionately distributed across the landscape, round & bare (no trees!)

Row 2 (left & right): The extremely clear sea waters of one of the islands that I could even spot a starfish so clearly. Really curious about how the tree and some plants can strangely grow in the middle of the sea. It is a real tree, ok?

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Row 3 (left & right): The really charming boutique hotel in Cebu, a pity space only allows two photos, and one is of the industrial chic rooms, and another is just a statement that I like, nothing to do with the interior of the hotel actually

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Last but not least, I ought to dedicate some space to Taiwan and Bali as a tribute to my hardworking colleagues who organized these getaways.

Taiwan has quite a prominent feature already under ‘Eat’ and that was really what the trip was about – bonding together & enjoying life over sumptuous food. Bali was mostly about teambuilding and getting to know overseas colleagues, because after all, Bali is not quite known for its temples – I still prefer my paddy fields & still relish my Dreamland ‘sundowner’, which regretfully was too expensive from our Nusa Dua hotel to do. Things got wild & rowdy at times, but it was in spirit of good fun & laughter. This is call work hard, play hard.

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2014 & BEYOND

结语

As I reflect on 2014’s travels…it has been such a great, great year. Very thankful for all the travels and especially thankful I set my heart to write and review photos, as this does the amazing job of surfacing so many memories. So many more than can be contained in this project, unless I devote more time & energy to expand this into a 100 page work. I’m tempted to also do a 2013 version, covering Sri Lanka, Bandung, Hanoi and the UAE. There are a couple of recurring factors why certain memories are so fond. One is the sense of space, I simply loved it when I am in places where there are expanses of space – the flats of Soweto, such as when sitting at that bus stop having lunch over Soweto, cycling along the coast at Tanjong Jara, being at La Plume gazing out in the distance, maybe even Imam Square. These create a sense of carefree-ness as the stress & worries of everyday life are cast aside. Also captivating my heart are majestic mountain ranges, preferably in a more arid landscape, such as when I was in South Africa and even Iran – in fact, didn’t expect those long intercity drives to be so wonderful.

Second, I enjoy political-social history & city development topics, preferably of more recent times. A key reason why South Africa made it on my top list, because of the heartbreaking experience learning about apartheid in both Soweto & Cape Town, on top of experiencing the wildlife in Kruger & Oudtshoorn and other reasons stated earlier. And also the reason why the architectural tour in Phnom Penh was so memorable too.

Third, it seems that long trips are those which created the most memories, perhaps because of more time to savour the country. Or just because I have greater choice to visit where I enjoy the most, or even because that’s when I can incorporate more experiences?

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Another self discovery point is that I’m not that into ancient history – Egypt was too heavy on that while Iran achieved a very nice balance.

Siem Reap also possibly bordered too much into ancient ruins. One more random point, over this year, I guess I’ve clarified further what travel photography means to me. It is more a tool to capture as accurately & beautifully the destinations I’ve been to, than a tool to capture some really fantastic but abstract shots. I prefer more realistic and with more details to tell the story of my travels.

2015 Destinations Crystal Ball 1. Oman 2. Croatia 3. Ethiopia 4. Shanghai/Hong Kong As already shared above, I love expanses of space & majestic mountain ranges. Oman, nestled in one of my most favourite region, and also a country of mountains, canyons, deserts & oasis. Arab culture also mesmerizes me very much. Excellent road network plus a recent dawning on me that petrol is cheap makes for an ideal self drive holiday.

Croatia attracts me for the wine – one reason why South Africa was so fond, the memories of my Franschhoek experience still lingers within. A little bit of political/military/social history too, like in Dubrovnik. And of course self driving, though the problem is that I want to drink, which means no driving! One more reason in Croatia favour is that I’ve travelled so much, yet I have never been in Europe! I think there are many who have been to Europe for a few times but never in the Middle East & North Africa region (except possibly on transit). I am the other way round!

My most enamoured region is Africa and the reason for Ethiopia. Along with the fact that the historic north is a vast mountainous region, amazing scenery, as well as a good mix of history & churches, plus the mind blowing Danakil Depression. To be honest, the churches bring me mixed feelings, with worry of being churched out. I’ll also very much love to do a self drive, but road conditions don’t seem very ideal.

I have a feeling I’ll blow a tyre or not along the way. Though that’s not much of a concern, fixing tyres is not that difficult…but more worried about potential glass damage from loose rocks etc.

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Even though long trips probably generate the most lasting of memories, after three long trips in 2014, I kind of yearn for a shorter trip and one that indulges. This is the reason for Shanghai/Hong Kong. More inclined to Shanghai because I’ve never been tthere & there is quite a lot of the type of history I enjoy. In addition to my favourite xiao long baos,, dumplings & noodles, all abundantly sumptuous and cheap – makes me salivate just thinking about them.

For sure, budget & time doesn’t allow all to be done, and new interests may pop out, so let’s see how 2015 turns out! Meanwhile,

recruitment for fellow wanderlust travellers to o the above is open!

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