Author archive
20 February 2011
In between the various events at the Art Deco festival, I had some spare time. So I decided to go swim with sharks in the National Aquarium. I checked out the pricing and it wasn’t too bad compared to just a walk-in visitor. I was led up to the backroom where I donned a thick […]
19 February 2011
Today I set off to attend the Art Deco Festival in the Hawkes Bay. I had been before and having had such a good time previously, it seemed like a good idea to repeat the experience. It wasn’t all smooth sailing (or flying, should I say) this time. While driving out to Auckland airport, Air […]
12 February 2011
It’s never nice to abandon the Kiwi summer, so it was nice to arrive back in Auckland around 1110 knowing that there’s some of the summer left for me.
10 February 2011
Today I fly from Penang at 1455 to Hong Kong for an overnight, before picking up my flight back to Auckland on an Air New Zealand staff ticket (hence the circuitous routing). It’s also one of the rare instances AirAsia gets my money … while I normally buy free or nearly-free tickets for my travels, […]
9 February 2011
Kek Lok Si (or Temple of Supreme Bliss) has been Penang’s big attraction for decades. The Chinese-Buddhist temple complex at Ayer Hitam is massive … there are many shrines in addition to the old main pagoda built in an eclectic style … Chinese, Thai etc all put together. More recently there is a ginormous statue of […]
8 February 2011
Today I said goodbye to family and flew to Penang again, leaving at 1220. It is my third time there this trip, using the island as a hub. It has turned out to be a good plan as I love the food and the character. It’s like an authentic version of Singapore … Singapore with […]
1 February 2011
It was another early morning start for me, to catch the 0810 AirAsia flight from Chennai to Kuala Lumpur. Less than four hours later, I was in KL, landing at 1430. It was a much nicer time to fly the route compared to the traditional schedule of the full service airlines, leaving at night and […]
31 January 2011
Check-out from my Port Blair hotel, Andaman Residency, is rather early at 0800. This is typical for this town as incoming flights are in the morning. Flying back to Chennai 1245 on Kingfisher, they have an inflight magazine like no other. It is purely about the glitz and glamour of Indian filmstars. Flicking through the […]
30 January 2011
Today I explored Port Blair’s sights … it was set up as a penal colony by the British to incarcerate political prisoners, ie. freedom fighters for the independence movement. Ross Island: Angkor of the Andamans I took a boat across the harbour to Ross Island which was the headquarters for the British in the area. […]
29 January 2011
Leaving my island paradise Check-out was at 0930 today but my ferry from Havelock Island back to Port Blair isn’t till 1630. Despite previous information, there was no earlier ferry. I easily killed the day with a long breakfast, a long lunch and an Ayurvedic massage in between. I’m not a big fan of Ayurvedic […]