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Is there anything more lovely on a day than sitting in the sunshine, enjoying fine dining and excellent wines, with the tinkling of the river or the gentle lull of the sea in the background? Peacefully situated on the banks of the Swan River and the entrance to the Indian Ocean. Pier 21 Apartment Hotel in North Fremantle, Perth is the perfect location to relax and watch the world go by. Spacious self-contained apartments with breathtaking views, each having its own private balcony from which guests can enjoy the magnificent panorama, with most apartments overlooking the Swan River. This is not an average hotel. When you arrive you really feel you are in a paradise. You open your window and you see the yachts and the views. There's not much point staying in an international chain hotel when you are in a city like Perth, you need to give something like this a go where peace reigns supreme and visitors are left spellbound. It's truly a memorable experience and location not to be missed. I'm glad that i have gained such rare experience in my life. 
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What a great way to start a great weekend! I've attended the gala premiere of 7 Letters last night, one of the most anticipated local releases, a one-of-a-kind project celebrating Singapore’s 50th year. The screening of 7 Letters is held over three nights from 24th to 26th July 2015 and will be the first film to premiere at the iconic Capitol Theatre since its last cinema showing in 1998. Singapore’s seven most illustrious directors including Royston Tan, Tan Pin Pin, Boo Junfeng, Eric Khoo, K Rajagopal, Jack Neo and Kelvin Tong, have gathered their creative storytelling and filmmaking talents. Each produced, wrote and directed a segment, reflecting on our social and cultural milieu. Each with their own disparate styles and cinematic voice. 7 Letters represents seven heartfelt ‘love letters’ to Singapore, capturing each of the directors’ personal and poignant connection with the place they call home. The seven stories tell of our heartland and its people through tales of lost love, identity, inter-generational familial bonds and tensions, unlikely neighbours, and even references to traditional folklore. There are no dramatic retellings of historical events, political undertones nor propaganda in any of the seven, and that's what makes ‘7 Letters’ a pleasure to watch as it shows what makes Singapore, Singapore.  Hi everyone, I am taking another short break from blogging as I’ve again decided to be a good boss to my blogging self - this confessed work-and-travelholic is going to take the next week off to Perth in Australia! I still have quite a few scheduled travel posts on Japan and Hong Kong that I've committed to, think I'll really going to be very busy after i return from a cold OZ winter vacation. I'll resume posting my travelogues in late July, I look forward to getting back to you soon again! Bon voyage!  Osaka isn't just big, it's unique. Many people are surprised to find that Osaka has a completely different personality from Tokyo. Where Tokyo is reserved, Osaka is extravagant. Where Tokyo is shy, Osaka is warm and outgoing. A century ago, city builders eyeing undeveloped land in southern Osaka created a neighborhood that captured Japan’s worship of the West and its determination to compete as an equal. The neighborhood, born in 1912, was called Shinsekai (新世界), meaning the New (新) World (世界) in Japanese. Shinsekai has that time warp feeling of 1960s Osaka and gives you a unique, cross cultural kind of feeling. Shinsekai went through ups and downs over the decades, including a prolonged slump from which it started recovering in the past few years in the unlikeliest fashion. Nowadays, the neighborhood that embodied foreign glamour has become known, through a mix of circumstances and clever marketing, as a quintessentially old-fashioned Japanese neighborhood and as a slice of the authentic Osaka. The main symbol here is the Tsutenkaku (通天阁) Tower, completed in 1912, symbolizing the birth of a New World. Tsutenkaku basically means “The Tower Reaching to Heaven” which is the landmark of Shinsekai till now. The area was modeled after New York to its south and Paris to its North.  On a hot summer day, nothing beats a couple scoops of green tea ice cream. Anything cold and sweet makes the heat just a little more bearable. The current muggy weather in Singapore sends me back to one of my favourite moments for big scoops of green-tea ice cream in Kyoto. Kyoto is known for its green tea. If you love green tea, you will surely love Kyoto. I thank all my readers for the trip down memory lane.  When I first created my travel photography blog in July 2010, never in my wildest dreams could I imagine that five years later I would be celebrating my blog anniversary while still busy travelling around the world. Obviously, I owe it all to those of you who continue to visit the blog and read my posts everyday and also those of who follow me on social media. I still can’t believe all the wonderful things that have come about and all the amazing people I’ve been privileged to meet and even befriend in the last five years. It’s not always been easy but it’s certainly been a rewarding and interesting five years. I think some people have a vision that everything just falls in my lap. On some occasions, it actually does but the majority of the time, I go out and make things happen. Having a blog means that I can’t be shy about reaching out to people or going places on my own. It means having a curiosity to learn more and do more so I can share it with you. It means not being afraid to travel to a foreign country. But more than anything, I hope that whatever I do inspires you to do something, whether it’s to attend an exhibition, travel, or just be a better person.  The idea behind my blog is to encourage, equip and inspire people around the world to live their best life and so it'll just continues and hopefully tomorrow, I will have another post written for you as we all try to make the world a better and happy place together.
I am forever grateful for the continued support and encouragement from all of my wonderful readers and friends. Thanks so much again for a fantastic five years! I hope I can continue on for at least another five years. If you’ve been a regular for a while, what’s been your favourite post from the past five years? Welcome to a piece of Hong Kong’s local culture! The Star Cafe located in Tsim Sha Tsui was once the haunt of film stars. The bing sutt is still popular with locals and tourists. It was opened in 1966 by a group of Cantonese movie stars. Star Cafe is part of a unique Hong Kong dining culture called bing sutt (冰室) popularized around the 1950s as a result of the convergence of cultures. After the 2nd World War, Western food became increasingly popular in Hong Kong with the British colonization. However, such food remained beyond the financial reach of many people. Bing sutts used to be high-end places to go. Local diners started offering dishes with Western influences at affordable prices (this must be one of the earliest versions of fusion food). This type of fusion cuisine or “soy sauce Western 豉油西餐” (adding of Chinese ingredients into Western dishes) started the trend for cha chan teng 茶餐厅 and bing sutt 冰室 (smaller menu than 茶餐厅), serving localized versions of Western comfort food as well as iced drinks, coffee, and tea. Such places are no-frills, low-priced and operate round-the-clock. The perennial air of boisterousness is characteristic in such places. Star Cafe had changed hands a few times since then, and the current owner took over in 1999 when the previous owner was getting too old. There are no elegant decorations and it's hidden away in a busy area – making you feel like you went back in time 20 years to a quieter time. 如果大家想在香港能够在繁忙的生活里面抽离一下，走到一个宁静的地方，静静地坐下吃一个饭或一个下午茶，去一个好像和现实生活隔绝的空间，之后才再回到繁忙的生活中冲刺，不妨可以考虑到位于尖沙嘴的星座冰室。星座冰室是尖沙咀这边在地人必吃的老字号冰室，遊客比较少，有着尖沙咀NO.1蕃茄面的美誉，纵使放到全香港来比较也毫不逊色，如果说武侠小说里有北乔峰南慕容，那我觉得香港蕃茄面界里就有北星座冰室！ 星座冰室与弥敦道最繁忙的路段只有一个路口之隔，我从金马伦道的电器舖入口行进去，经过黑漆漆的走廊、货仓和一些卖杂货的小舖，就好像走过一条时空隧道，然后转个弯就会见到星座冰室在前面，进入冰室之后找个座位坐下，环顾四周的装修摆设，就好像回到三十年前的香港一样，你不会想像到出面就是最繁忙的尖沙嘴，无论当天发生过甚么事情，都可以将它留在外面的世界，暂时让自己去到另一个空间好好地叹一下。  If you are tired of the temples and gardens of Kyoto and want a glimpse of everyday Kyoto life, a walk down Nishiki-koji (Nishiki market) will surely refresh your spirits. Located in central Kyoto, the narrow street, conveniently covered for the rain, has been supplying Kyoto’s residents with high-quality traditional ingredients for centuries. Although its present form and location is from the late 16th century, the market has been in place since the Middle Ages. I always like to head straight to the markets and food enclaves when I arrive in a new city; it’s the pulse of how people live and how the food culture is surviving the perils of supermarkets and industrial food. Kyoto is known for its many culinary delicacies, and you'll find most of them at Nishiki. Meandering through the arcade one can easily be overwhelmed by the sights, the sounds and the smells of the market. Most people call this place ‘Kyoto’s Kitchen’ and you can see why with its specialist stalls bustling in activity and with fascinating displays of artisan produce and fresh local bounty; from glistening fresh seafood pristinely displayed to every imaginable dried fish and seafood, an extraordinary kaleidoscope of pickled vegetables and handmade sweets, and all the seasonal foods and specialties that the historical Kyoto cuisine is renowned. 在每次出行的线路安排中，我总会将一些农贸市场、菜场集市、卖场超市顺带一并列入行程中，边走边吃边看的同时，也能更深入这个城市日常生活的点点滴滴。原本京都的锦市场和大坂的黑门市场都在我的行程单上，后来在大坂逛街逛到失控，没能来得及逛上黑门市场，锦市场就成了本次关西行中唯一一个顺利走完的综合性集市。“食物的味道” 常常是一段旅行记忆最深刻的部分。 说到京都，就不能错过号称 “京都厨房” 的锦市场。拥有四百年历史的京都人的厨房–锦市场，京都必访旅遊人气景点之一，且有京都厨房之美誉，聚集上百家的店舖，闹哄哄热闹非凡的商店街，集具了各种生鲜食材、传统小吃、菓子杂货等，除了是外来遊客最爱到访的地方，也是京都市民爱逛的市集之一。 我是一个特别喜欢逛当地大小市场的人，每到一个地方都想要探寻个究竟，也是我最直接熟悉当地人环境的最好地方。在这里逛着，可以看到除了料理的食材以外，还能处处能见到京都茶及和果子。要不是急着拍照就可以买了在店门口即时享用，散步在那里的时候随时都会看到随买随吃的片段。看着人们吃着美味的欢乐表情自己也开始幸福起来了。所以说，好吃的美味都是要趁着热吃才会新鲜美味。 人生也是如此啊，彼时遇到了那抹美好便一点要把握到才是。  |
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