Category: Exploring

View from Rinca Island

Flores: Labuan Bajo and Komodo National Park

After a couple of relaxing days around Bajawa, we were ready to move on. The last day was rainy and while we enjoyed the cooler temperatures, we were looking forward to shorts and t-shirts again. As outline in my introductory post, we opted to fly from Bajawa to Labuan Bajo...

Kids playing football at the neighboring Luba village

Flores: Bajawa, Gunung Inerie and Ngada Villages

Before coming to Flores we knew that roads would be winding and the pace at which you’re driving slow. So we opted to spend three nights in the mountainous Bajawa area to enjoy cooler temperatures and relax. Accommodation standards in Flores (maybe apart from Labuan Bajo) are not very high...

Flores: Visiting Mount Kelimutu

Kelimutu was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. The photos I had seen online looked magical and I was really looking forward to experiencing the beauty of these three volcanic crater lakes. One can either fly into Maumere or Ende, with the latter being a little bit closer....

The Male fish & produce market

Markets are always a fascinating place to visit and offer great insights into local life. The Maldives are well known for its tuna industry and Male as the capital hosts an important fish market. While the famous fish market Tsukiji in Tokyo is still on my bucket list, I am...

Two very different sides of the Maldives – the capital

After spending a few nights in a great resort, it was time for the second part of our Maldives trip – a one night visit to the country’s capital, Malé. The capital island of Male with a population of around 100’000 is about a 10 minutes ferry ride away from the...

Two very different sides of the Maldives – the postcard resort

I spent the long weekend over Chinese New Year in the Maldives. As I had written previously, not everything in the island nation is as sunny and peaceful as we associated with from the postcards we receive from friends. I got the chance to see the other side as well,...

Impressions from the Thaipusam procession in Singapore

This past weekend the Hindu festival of Thaipusam was celebrated in Singapore (as a matter of fact, everywhere with a sizable Tamil population). I had missed it last year and wanted to make sure to get a glimpse at it this time. I won’t go into much detail regarding the...

Hangzhou: the food did not disappoint

I was looking forward to the food in Hangzhou and sure was not disappointed. Over the two days we did not have a single meal that wasn’t tasty. But then again, we did not go too experimental as one could and you will see below. Another night we had dinner...

Hangzhou: a walk around West Lake and Hefang Street

In late November two friends asked whether I was interested in a weekend in China before year end. I really liked my time in Qingdao a few months ago  and quickly agreed. It was a very spontaneous idea and the initial plan was to go to Shanghai. However when we started...

Bali: A day in Ubud

Back in October I spent a weekend in Bali. I had been before but never made it to Ubud, the town that is considered the island’s culture centre. Not much planning is needed to visit. We asked our Uber driver who drove us from the airport the night before whether...