Caravan Adventure (Prep)

To be honest, caravaning was kinda always on my wanna try list but I never thought that I would actually really get down to doing it. Just earlier this year Mikka and me were just still cringing at the thought of clearing pee n poo from these kind of travels when we were just looking around through camper van halls at the CMT fair.. But strangely enough as fate may have it, we decided really out of the blue that we try this out.. So.. Here we are, start of one of many new adventures to come...

Being both newbies to Caravaning, Mikka and myself were kind of clueless as to what we really need to prepare for the trip. Would we need extra cables? Will we need to get a proper camping guide just in case? Thankfully ADAC has all these included in the rental of their camper vans. So, that means we only have to bring our luggages and we're good to go (literally). 

We are talking about camping afterall so how can we not stock up the van a little with food? Hey, I'm Singaporean.. Instant noodles are travel essentials.. Lol... Anyway, we brought along coffee, tea, milo, instant soups, bread and water for our backup rations just in case we ever get hungry and there is no possibilities of getting food (which is more likely than not). 

Bedding is also something that you have to take care of yourselves. Mattress is good for 2 persons (in our small little Globaltrotter) but the shape of it is kinda irregular so bedsheets are good for cover but not the fitted kind. Pillows and covers also has to be brought along.

Mikka picked up the caravan one day ahead and we had everything loaded and ready to go.

Updates to follow up.... 

L E G O L A N D Deutschland

2013 has been such a bad travel together with Mikka year. All travel plans were either made alone or not materialized... I felt that we really needed a short break away - Together...

We decided to do a short getaway starting with Legoland!!...

Have been talking about visiting this place for a long time but never did get down to planning it. Since its only about 1.5hrs away from here, why should we not include it in our 'mini vacation'?

It was no surprise that the moment we got out of the car in the parking lot, we were more or less surrounded by kids (of all ages ranging from 3 - 80)... Lol... It's afterall a kids paradise... 

Since we already got our entrance tickets online, there was no need to queue to get them (thank God!!)... That saved us at least 20mins. 

 

First thing that hit you after u push past the entrance bar was "Now I remember why we love Lego".... Tiny pieces of coloured plastic bricks put together to become all kinds of fantastic and amazing figures... WOW!!!... As you go further into the park, big and small figurines always never fail to keep the smile on your face along the way...

There are rides, 4D films, live animal shows.. Something for everyone in the family. For those who prefer to walk around, there's the miniature land that is absolutely gorgeous.. Mini versions of Berlin, Amsterdam, Castle Neuschwanstein to name a few. Also, for all those Star Wars fans.. of course you can find your favourite characters build up from what else but - Lego bricks... 

Tip for those who want to visit.. Double up on the batteries for your camera and phones.. You WILL make lots and lots of pictures.. 

Castle Neuschwanstein 

Das Rote Rathaus in Berlin 

Amsterdam 

Hamburg 

Allianz Arena München

Mallorca 2011

A change from the cold cold cold Germany... Hmm... We decided for some sun, sea & sand... and the nearest place would be Palma de Mallorca - Spain!! The flight was only 2 hrs which is like going from SIN to BKK.. can't be more convenient.. *winks* On the flight to Mallorca, I was greeted by this magnificent view of 'Mountains in the clouds'.. wow... it was really really beautiful..  

Upon arrival, we picked up our luggages and headed over to the Hertz to get our rented 'baby' and made our way to the hotel - Protur Sa Coma Playa Hotel & Spa. As we took the late flight and arrived at the hotel only at around 9pm, we were kind of starving but it was a nice surprise when the reception told us that they have prepared some food for the late check-in guests and we were free to go and eat at our own timing.. Cool.... 

It is no wonder that they say Mallorca has up to 80% tourists from Germany.. The TV channels in the hotel room consists of mostly German and a few English channels.. LOL.. Mikka was going crazy and was rambling about this being impossible.. Can't even find a single Spanish channel in Spain... Hahaha....

The next day after breakfast, we decided to check out the surrounding area.. We headed down the street towards the beach which is around 10mins walk from the hotel.. (ok.. if your legs are longer probably it will be less... keke) There are many pubs and restaurants along the way and of course souvenir shops.. The beach is of course awesome... Fine sand, great waves.. unfortunately... too crowded.. Well, me n Mikka are not really the beach people so we just hung around and enjoyed the atmosphere.. We parked our butts at one of the beach 'pubs' (dunno if you can call it that... Lol..) and had our first beer in Mallorca.. Spanish San Miguel!! (Note note!! It's not the same as the Philippines one...) 

After the thirst quenching drink, we decided to explore the place a little bit more. We went into the smaller lanes where there are also shops and Mikka decided to get a new pair of slippers as his was 'biting'. We ended up in this Pakistani guy's shop and we were speaking to him in Deutsch in Spain... So ironic.. talking about going international... haha... After threading through the alleys for a bit, we made a pit-stop at this English pub called King's Head to have a bite and something to drink. This place is along the main street so you can't miss it. Great chill-out place to recommend. As we had nothing much planned for the day, we decided to go check out the hotel facilities. Protur has a chain of hotels around the area and it works a little like Club-Med. Hotel guests can inter-use the facilities at all the chains. They have facilities like spa, driving range, archery, shooting, tennis, squash etc... they also have free lessons for some of the facilities on certain days of the week. That is as per schedule so one must check that out at the main clubhouse.

We planned for a little tour of the city and visited many great sites.. First stop was at the town Manacor.. The town is pretty interesting I would say.. We were goin all around snapping away on our cameras. Mikka was however going all crazy driving through the towns as the roads were soooooo small and the sides of the roads are mostly just rock piles. I was thanking my lucky stars that I don't have to drive... Scary... We made a visit to Sant Salvador situated on the top of the mountain of the same name. Its origin dates back to 1348, when the primitive church dedicated to the "Passió de la Imatge" was built. Then we came to Porto Christo which is a small town on the eastern coast of Mallorca. Porto Cristo Harbour is a natural Harbour which still homes small fishing boats giving shelter from storms and in recent years, the New Marina now homes high end pleasure boats. We had lunch in one of the riverside restaurants and the atmosphere was most serene.. Dinners at the hotel is kinda delightful. The dishes that they have on the buffet table was great and the selection is also big. Seafood deprived me had a big grin always after dinner... keke... There was one setback though.. We were to have a complimentary dinner at any one of the restaurants of the hotel chain and we chose this Spanish restaurant Sa Bodega right at our doorstep. Disappointment is the only word to describe the experience. The food was bland and the service was... well.... not up to standard. I would think that the buffet dinner at the hotel dining room was even better.. Sorry.. but thumbs down for this one.

 Mikka made reservations to play golf at one of the nearby courses and so I was left with some free time on my own.. =D I took a little stroll down to the beach again and had lunch at this small place - Restaurante El Sol. The recommendation for the day was fish but I was dying for a grilled squid so I just went with my senses... and boy how right it was... most satisfying meal in a long time.. Since I had the time, I also made a reservation to use the sauna at the hotel. Yes.. you have to make a reservation cos the sauna is all yours within your booking time.. How nice... As it was also in the same place as the indoor pool, so I conveniently also too a short swim to work out my lazy body a little.. Lol... Very nice and relaxing.. also made me sleep rather well.. haha...

On the last day, Mikka managed to make another appointment at a different golf course so off he went to play again... I was not really feeling well so I just hung around at the hotel and had a relaxed day... That night we finally made it 'out of the hotel' for dinner.. Lol.. We went to a nearby restaurant where we finally had Paella... =D I was craving for this eversince we touched down... haha... A little bit salty but still satisfying.. As we had to check out and leave the hotel by 6am, we had to have an early night but I think due to the sudden strong winds earlier that night, I unfortunately caught a cold... So it was a terrible last night with not much sleep for me. Thankfully, the hotel had also food prepared for the early check-out guests so at least we didn't leave with an empty stomach. The flight back to Stuttgart was delayed for around 2 hrs so it was another round of waiting and waiting at the airport.. So this is it for Mallorca this time.. It's a big island with many places that we have not explored yet.. We will be back.. Till the next time!!!

Düsseldorf

Over the last weekend, we made a short trip to Düsseldorf. As Mikka and myself has not been to this town before, we decided that it would be nice to visit. Mikka's main intention was to go to the Schüco Open 2011 which was held at the Golf Club Hubbelrath. We set off from Stuttgart at 7am and driving time was ca. 4hrs. After we arrived on Saturday, we checked-in at the Holiday-Inn Express Düsseldorf - City North which is about 5-10 mins away from the city by car... A very nice and cosy hotel but not recommended if you are not driving. It took me around an hour to walk to town... =S Shortly after, we made our way to the golf course to take a look in preparation for what Mikka has to expect the next day.. I have to say that the planning for the event was a little chaotic. The traffic from the parking place to the golf course itself was terrible and after we arrived, the staff seemed as clueless as all the others... After a little shuffle here and there, the players were finally introduced as the Match-Play started. Me being smaller than all those Germans was only able to sneak a peak every now and then.. lol.. It was interesting and being my first time at a Golf tournament, I had to say that its really a nice game but still too much walking for 'flat-foot' me.. We decided to go down to town to take a look before everything closes and we still had to get dinner. After a nice walk through Königsallee, the main shopping street in Düsseldorf, we made our way to the Altstadt on the other side where the River Rhein runs through. The Schifffahrt-Museum im Schlossturm is just by the river but we did not have time to visit.. Next time perhaps.. It was a really nice walk along the river, reminded me a little of Köln. Well, its the same river running through.. LOL. We finally settled at this nice little restaurant in the Altstadt - Benders Marie.  They serve local specialities and I have to recommend the ‘Rheinische Sauerbraten mit Klössen, Rotkohl & Apfelmus’.  Day 2 was as hectic... Woke up at 6am to have breakfast and Mikka left the hotel at 7am to avoid the jamm and chaos at the Golf course that is anticipated. I lazed around a little bit more and left the hotel at around 10am. I was contemplating on taking the train but decided not to as the train station didn't look very safe.. Yes, I am a scaredy cat but I would rather walk then get mugged. And so it was a loooong walk to town. My target was the Goethe Musuem which is located at the foot of the Hofgarten. I seriously had no clue where it was. Thank God for Googlemaps.. Lol..  After an hour, I finally stood at the front steps of the museum. The museum itself is 3 storeys and it is interesting to see the old writings, paintings and artifacts dating way back to the 1700's. I spent around 2 hours in there making so many pictures.. After I left the museum, I took a slow stroll through the Hofgarten towards the Altstadt. I was starving by the time I got there but there was definitely too much choices to decide from.. I decided that it would be nice to try something Asian in another German city.. Then a familiar name struck me.. Baan Thai... yes!! Thai food it is.. I finally had my fulfillment of my craving for Thai coffee. It may seem crazy but I was really missing it. The food is not too bad.. My most important Chilli powder is freely available so I am satisfied.. haha... By the time I had finished my meal, my legs were still aching from the long walk from the morning. I was supposed to meet up with Mikka at the other side of the Altstadt so I decided to just go there, find a nice spot to sit and read. I still find it a pity that ALL the shops in Germany are closed on Sundays. If not I could go and get some shopping done... =(  When Mikka finally appeared, we went for coffee and enjoyed the on-goings on the streets of Düsseldorf. This night, we decided on something Spanish.. yeah!! A recommendation from Four-Square landed us in Las Tapas. This restaurant is in Schneider-Wibbel-Gasse (I guess its a famous street) with at least another 3 Spanish restaurants.

We ordered an assortment of Tapas to fill up our not so hungry stomachs. (Unfortunately, cos we both had a late lunch.) Very relaxing and nice atmosphere although the street was a little narrow. Then it was back to the hotel and our short short trip is over and we are headed home the next day...

Here's a video of the Tee shots at the Shüco Open that Mikka made...

Taiwan Trip 2010 Part 4

The nice taxi driver that picked us up the previous night asked if we would like to book his car for a half-day tour and we thought why not especially since we are tired enough and it would simply take up too much time just for travelling alone... So at 10am in the morning, there he was waiting for us with breakfast in hand.. Cool eh?! *winks*
 We were busy slurping up our oyster mee-suah when he stopped a distance from the 101 tower and asked if we would like to take pictures... He's really cute, he loves to snap snap snap away.. What I call 'trigger-happy'.. LOL... As I did not bring a 'real' camera with me, my pictures were all taken with my iPhone 4. Not too bad I must say.. I never really like to take pictures.. this time its a miracle I had so many taken and I actually like them.. keke... So, after the 101 Tower, we headed for Qing Tong Old Street (青桐老街) where we got steamed peanuts along the way with compliments from the driver again...
While the driver was parking his vehicle, we were just looking around waiting for him to come back when we had a little shock when he came back with another guy... He wanted to ask if this guy wanted to follow us on our 'tour' so that he could earn a little more and at the same time share some costs with us. We were ok with another person joining us but he declined as he wanted to take the train ride from there but he followed us to the 'post office' which is actually also kind of a souvenir shop where I sent out this really nice postcard which is actually a wooden plaque to Mikka... After we said our goodbyes, we headed for our second destination, Shi-Fen (十分).
Along the way, we did something that we would never get to do here in Singapore... Lighting the Sky Lantern (放天灯).. Ok, it might not be the most environmental friendly thing but then its a once in a lifetime experience... Funny enough,  we saw the same guy which the taxi driver tried to pick up earlier again.. LOL.. We were making a joke that if we saw him for a third time he would have to follow us... And yes... at Shi-Fen (十分), we saw him again... keke... Here we officially introduce our new found friend.. Stephan.. He's also from Germany but staying in Switzerland. So after he joined in the group, we went to see the waterfalls and after that, headed for Jiu Fen(九分).  Jiu Fen Old Street(九分老街) is a 'must-see' place.. Other than shopping, it has the real 'old street' feel compared to the other old streets that I have been...  Rushing off to the next destination... The Gold Ecological Park / Museum(黃金博物園區) at Jin Gua Shi (金瓜石).. In this place, there is a block of gold weighing 220Kgs. It is supposedly that if anyone can lift it with one hand, he can take the gold back with him.. Don't talk about lifting it, no matter how much you try to push it, it will not even budge.. Think its nailed in... keke... Next, we drove to this cliff area overlooking the sea where the taxi driver told us that this vast ocean actually leads to 3 different places.. Japan, Korea and Shanghai.. respectively in 3 different directions of course... =P There we met a group of aunties and uncles having a picnic... Cool right? Driving up the mountains just to picnic...They even offered us some of their food.. LOL.. The cherry tomatoes were really yummy... keke... Then along the way, we stopped in the middle of nowhere.. yes I really mean it.. this driver is crazy.. He can and will stop just about anywhere to show us stuff.. Here, he was showing us the rocks that is of different colour tones due to the staining from the gold particles in the water...
I managed to get a picture.. keke... As it was getting dark, we had to skip Keelung so we headed for Yang Ming Shan instead.. Nevertheless, still can't beat the speed of the sun going down. By the time we arrived, we had to walk in with a torch.. So, with my lousy 'camera' I did not manage to picture anything.. Dinner was ermm... haha.... We decided to buy the taxi driver dinner as he had brought us around for the whole day but the food that he recommended did not really suit my tastebud.. I had my first beer in Taiwan... LOL... Liquid food.. I learnt this from Mikka!! After dinner, we got the taxi driver to drop us off at Wu Fen Pu (五分埔) which ended the half-day but in the end became a full-day tour...
 We ventured into Rao He Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市) after that and at the end of the night, said our goodbyes.. It was nice making a new friend in a foreign land.. =) Last day in Taiwan already... That's how fast 10days just passes you by... We still had time to shop around as our flight was at 7.30pm so we went down to Xi Men Ding (西門町), the most popular shopping district in Taipei. I finally visited Cheng Pin Bookstore (城品书店). Wanted to drop by earlier in the wee hours of the morning (this bookstore is opened 24hrs) but never had the chance to as we were always too kaputt by the time we got back to the hotel....

In the last few hours that we have left in Taipei.. we just ate and had fun.... We had a really good time.. Till next time Taiwan!!!!!

Goodbye Taiwan!!!

Taiwan Trip 2010 Part 3

Finally, we arrive in the capital city of Taipei... Walking thru the underground shopping street (which is really confusing due to the many exits of the station), still with our 2 big cases, found the exit which leads to our hotel.. I tell you... It has gotta be a scene right out of a Stephen Chow movie... You can imagine the shock that we had when we saw the 'hotel' sign at the side of a really rundown building.... I truly, honestly, nearly dropped my case.... I could not bring myself to take a picture of this one... Gosh.... Thankfully the 'hotel' 

 (which is actually only one level in the building) was not as bad as the exterior... Phew!! In the end, it was kinda cosy.. No complains for the room itself. After throwing down the luggages, it was as usual, out again.. 

Took the Metro to Da Zhi Station to walk around abit and headed over to Lin Jiang Street Night Market (临江街夜市) also known as Tong Hua Jie Night Market (通化街夜市). It was food and shopping shopping shopping all over again...

Next day, we headed to Dan Shui Old Street (淡水老街), Yu Ren Ma Tou (漁人碼頭) was on our 'to-visit' list but we could not make it there in the end. The boats stopped its services due to the strong winds so we had to give it a miss... Also in Dan Shui, I had my first Starbucks coffee in 7days in Taiwan... *Yay-Finally*!!! We simply had too much shopping in hand and too less time so we decided to give the Hot Springs a miss as it will take quite a few hours to travel there. Will leave this one to the next visit as well... keke... Shi Da Night Market (师大夜市) was the planned one this night. Still... food and shopping... (What else?!.. keke...)  

 We decided that we had to be more tourist like this day.. so in the morning, we headed over to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall (國立中正紀念堂). There was a pre-Halloween party/bazaar for kids in the open area before the hall.. All the kids were dressed in different kinds of Halloween costumes.. They looked really cute.. Passing the bazaar, we climbed the long flight of steps towards the hall. We were lucky to catch the 'take over duty' procedure of the Guards in the main hall. A procedure that only lasts for about 10mins at 12pm each day. 

 We took the train to the Eastern shopping district next and we stopped by at  the 'famous' SOGO to look for our lunch restaurant - Dian Shui Lou (點水樓). I had looked forward to going to this place as it supposedly serves real good dim sum. Nice ambience and yes... Great food. =)    

Next on the list... the National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院). As it was a Saturday, we had free entry to the museum after 6.30pm. As we were browsing thru the many exhibition rooms, we realized that 2 hrs was not enough.. We did not manage to finish touring the whole museum but it was a very enriching trip there. I guess I would go there again if I have the chance. 

Night Market Highlight for the day - Shi Lin Night Market (士林夜市)... The shopping area and the food area is really so huge... By the time we finished the shopping area, I was already too full to get anything from the real food section... Wie Schade!!!

Taiwan Trip 2010 Part 2

After the cold cold night in Alisan (if I ever go there again I would stay in a better hotel).. We travelled downhill to make our way to Yunlin.We stopped by a few places of interest along the way. Fen Qi Hu Old

  Street (奋起湖老街) - to eat the 'famous' Railway Bento (铁路便当). Bought a lot of ginger tea from there.. haha... When we arrived back in Jiayi, we also went to the Wen Hua Lu (文化路) Night Market before heading to our destination. As we were relatively early, there was not much of a crowd but pity that we only had about an hour so we didn't really have the time to look around. Thankfully the journey to Yunlin was only about 45mins so by the time we checked in, we still had time to relax before going to bed. Next day was supposed to be a real adventure as our target place is Jian Hu Shan Theme Park (剑湖山). We arrived there at around 10am and to my disappointment, there were not much people in the park. There were a few student groups

around but they left at around 2pm which made the park more or less... empty!!! Other than the fact that I did not wanna go on a roller coaster ride all alone (can you imagine one poor soul on a huge coaster... I wouldn't know what to do at all.....). The worse part was, the power to the park went out at around 3pm.. Gosh!! What luck we had.. At that point I was telling myself thank God I was not on any of the rides.. I would not like to be hung in the middle of the tracks... I also missed the haunted house too.. You can say it

 was more or less a wasted trip there. So next time when I have ride buddies, I will go back there.. =) We waited for our Taxi at the main entrance of the park at 5pm to take us back to the hotel to collect our luggages to move on to the train station for our ride to Taichung. We were so relieved to see escalators in the station.. The thought of carrying our cases and climbing the stairs really scared us... LOL. As per planned, we headed to Feng Jia Night Market(逢甲夜市) almost immediately after we put our stuff down in the hotel room. This market is really huge and the winds were sooooo strong I had a feeling I would get blown away.. To be honest, I wasn't prepared for such cold winds as the weather forecasts that we had checked before we left Singapore tells us that the average temperatures would be around 24 - 28 degrees.. so I had to get some thick clothings to keep

myself warm.. Also, as we travel further north, it is supposedly going to get colder. Before moving off to Taipei the next morning, we went to the much recommended restaurant Wu Jiao Chuan Ban(伍角船板). The food was really good but the prices are rather steep. On the way to the High Speed Rail Station, we picked up our Sun Biscuits (太阳饼) and Pineapple Cakes (鳳梨酥) along the way at the taxi driver's recommendation of the best shops...