Category: Travel

  • Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England – I had no idea that northwest England has such a beautiful place other than the modern skyline and cultural city of Liverpool. 45 minutes of Merseyrail ride out of Liverpool is the city of Chester, filled with black and white Tudor buildings, ancient Roman ruins and surrounded by city walls.

    When I visited Chester, it was like the 5th cities I’ve visited in UK (after Newcastle, Edinburgh, London, Manchester & Liverpool) and to my surprise, the architecture of the little town was beautiful. Interestingly, Chester is a town that’s popular with British tourists, but virtually unknown to most foreign tourists. It’s not surprise that Asian is hardly seen on the street.

    It’s a small town, you can finish touring the place in half a day, but there’s some interesting activities to do too, like visiting to the Chester Zoo, checking out the Chester Race and rowing down the River Dee. So is it worth visiting Chester? Absolutely, if you’re going to be in Manchester of Liverpool, you can easily get to Chester from there!

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

    Chester: Hidden Gem In The Northwest England

  • Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock – It was another short trip to Liverpool after spending a short while at Manchester. Since Liverpool is so near to Manchester, about 45 minutes of train ride, it would be a waste not to visit this beautiful city in the North West of England. Didn’t really know anything about Liverpool at first, all I know was the Liverpool Football Club, Anfield Stadium and Cheshire Oaks Shopping Outlets, that’s all. I never know that it’s quite gorgeous, full of history and culture and Beatles, the band was originated from Liverpool.

    Fun fact was that the Chinese Arch at Liverpool’s Chinatown is the largest in the UK, and a friend who is living in Liverpool told me the Chinatown is literally a dead town in the morning which only comes alive at night. LOL. Albert Dock and the city was interesting enough to makes me felt very happenings and the view across Mersey River just reminds me viewing Butterworth from George Town. Although it was just a day in Liverpool, it was still a fun one!

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    Liverpool: A Walk In City, Cheshire Oaks & Albert Dock

    University of Liverpool

  • Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown – In February, I went to Manchester for a very short while, a day spent but didn’t really visit much places. It was like a business trip to me as it was to attend some conference event. Though, I still managed to walk passed some cool places in the city like the Piccadilly Garden, the Town Hall & Chinatown.

    Whenever one heard of ‘Manchester’, the names of Manchester United, Manchester City & Old Trafford Stadium will come to mind. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to visit any of the famous football clubs! Sad, but still the day in Manchester was still fun meeting up with a Penang friend and also checking out a new place in the UK. If were to compare with Newcastle, I would say Newcastle is more a small town, and Manchester is a small city. There’s no such thing as big city in UK except London, maybe Glasgow too. At least, in Manchester, you would still see people walking on the street, but not in Newcastle.

    Few more weeks left for me living in the UK and I don’t think I have any more opportunity to visit Manchester anymore. But if I have the chance in the future, I still want to visit Old Trafford Stadium and check out the Salford Quay, and also have a good Chinese food at the Chinatown as I’ve read that Manchester has the most Chinese population in the UK. Yeah?

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    The Wheel of Manchester! This photo was taken the next day before I leave Manchester. =D

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

     

    Chinatown that was really quiet but has more shops compare to Newcastle. No doubt, London has the most happening Chinatown.

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    The famous Manchester Town Hall.

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Oh, my street – Nicholas Street.

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Genting Casinos are all over in UK.

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    Manchester: Piccadilly Garden, Town Hall & Chinatown

    A tram station that looks like a subway station.

  • London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market – The hustle and bustle of metropolitan of London does has a cool funky side of it at Camden Market of Camden Town! This part is London is totally different from the downtown area and it’s fun, cheap, artsy, cool and fun! The Punk-style was also said to be born here!

    Camden Market is reputed in London for its punk shops, cheap eats and bargains! For a visitor from Asia like me, it feels like Asia, selling cheap stuff like souvenirs, clothing, collectibles, antiques, and of course food! The food did look quite attractive at first, but after walking around the whole market, it seems like almost every stalls sell the same food, only different is the name – Chinese Food, Thai Food, Indian Food. If you look closely, most of them are take-all-you-can-in-a-box. Of course, there’s still some interesting food!

    Nothing to buy, Chinese food I ate was not as good as I thought, but it’s a lovely and fun visit to Camden Market!

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market\

     

    Upside-down Man.

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    A canal at Camden Town.

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    Interesting motorbike seats by the canal.

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

    London: Interesting Camdem Town & Market

  • 17-Days Eastern Europe Trip Itinerary Recap

    17-Days Eastern Europe Trip Itinerary Recap

    17-Days Eastern Europe Trip Itinerary Recap – Finally my blog posts about my Winter Trip in 2013 has finally comes to an end, here’s a recap of everything I’ve posted for your reference if you are planning for a trip to Eastern Europe. Don’t forget to include Cesky Krumlov if you are going to Prague and perhaps add another day to Lake Bled which is quite near to Vienna. You can also add in another couple days for Hallstatt too! Cheers!

    Day 0:

    Day 1:

    Day 2:

    Day 3:

    Day 4:

    Day 5:

    Day 6:

    Day 7 – 8:

    Day 9:

    Day 10:

    Day 11:

    Day 12:

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    Day 17:

  • 18 Hours Ride From Prague To London By Bus and Sunrise At French Border

    18 Hours Ride From Prague To London By Bus and Sunrise At French Border

    18 Hours Ride From Prague To London By Bus and Sunrise At French Border – My Eastern Europe Winter Trip blog post series is coming to an end right now with this last post that shows me travelling back to London from Prague in a superlong 18-hours bus ride! It would take just about 2 hours to fly from Prague to London, but we opted for the long way because flying back 3 days before New Year costs like £100 and the bus we took was like about £55 and it’s the cheapest way!

    It’s surely a long ride and we didn’t know how we could survive it but yeah, we managed to reach London, happily with a little smile on the face and tiredness. The long-distance bus started from Prague, calling at a few stops – Plzen, Nurnberg, Heidelbern, Dover and finally London! We packed a fried rice for each of us from a nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner and armed our tablet with movies and music to pass the time. Surprisingly, most of my time was spent sleeping!

    The only part that was not so happy was waiting at the French border for like 2 hours, it’s like a massive traffic jam at the immigration but the unhappy moment was counter by a good welcome of sunrise! Immigration was quick at the French side but the immigration officer questioned me a lot at the English side and tried to use a magnifying glass to look close at my English Student VISA as if it’s fake. WTF, but never mind, I knew about this early already.

    Astonished that the bus went into a train and then the trained travelled in the sea through the English Channel in Channel Tunnel. I thought it was gonna be the ferry that took us across, but luckily it was the train as it’s faster, else have to spend another 2 hours on the bus. Reached London at 11am and yeah, we survived the long bus ride.

    18 Hours Ride From Prague To London By Bus and Sunrise At French Border

    At Prague’s bus station – Praha Florenc.

    18 Hours Ride From Prague To London By Bus and Sunrise At French Border

    18 Hours Ride From Prague To London By Bus and Sunrise At French Border

    Long long queue at the French side.

    Bus into train, through Channel Tunnel, into England! Amazed!

  • Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Eastern Europe Trip // Prague: Prague Castle – Last day in Prague and the Prague Castle was truly the highlight of our visit to the city. Rest atop a hill overlooking the beautiful Vltava River and the old centre of Prague, it is extremely difficult to miss the beauty and impressiveness of this symbol of Czech Republic.

    No exact date of when it was founded but many ‘think’ that it was founded sometime in 880. Since then, it has suffered a long history of changing regimes and a few wars. The castle had served as home for the Bohemian kings, Roman emperiors, Nazi leaders and communist government officials! Nowadays, it functions as the residence and office for the President of Czech Republic and continues as a popular attraction for visitors like us!

    Without using any public transport, we took our slow time up to the castle, and I can assure you that it looks far, but it’s really easy and fast to get on top.

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

    Prague: Prague Castle

  • Prague: Grand Cafe Orient, A Cool Cubist Cafe

    Prague: Grand Cafe Orient, A Cool Cubist Cafe

    Eastern Europe Trip // Prague: Grand Cafe Orient, A Cool Cubist Cafe – Ola! I’ve just came back from my Spain & Porgual summer trip and it was a fun and hot one! Back to Newcastle right now and I’ve plenty of free time to share with you about my travel experience. Continue on what I’ve left previously where I was in Prague during my Eastern Europe Trip, here I want to bring you a cool cubist cafe in Prague – the Grand Cafe Orient.

    If you are wondering what is cubist, cubisim is an early 20th-century avant-garde art movement by Georges Braque and the famous Pablo Picasso and the interior of this cafe is styled after the cubism.

    During the trip, we were like addicted to cafe exploring after checking out the few in Budapest and Vienna. So we found this Grand Cafe Orient which is located in the House of the Black Madonna in the city. Amazed by the interior and atmosphere, but the beverage did not catch my attention. Well, Prague is a small city and we took the exploration slow and easy. Thus, an hour of short break in the cafe, enjoying cubism interior was relaxing!

    Prague: Grand Cafe Orient, A Cool Cubist Cafe

    Prague: Grand Cafe Orient, A Cool Cubist Cafe

    Prague: Grand Cafe Orient, A Cool Cubist Cafe

    Prague: Grand Cafe Orient, A Cool Cubist Cafe

    Prague: Grand Cafe Orient, A Cool Cubist Cafe

  • Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Eastern Europe Trip // Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge – Prague stands out as one of the few cities in Europe that emerged from World War 2 with its medieval old town still intact entirely. As you wander its cobblestoned streets of the old town, sometimes it can feels like you’ve been travelled back in time.

    Prague is a little city, but equipped with a good network of public transport like tram and subway. Though, my favourite and cheapest way of transporting around is by walking and basically, the main attractions in the city are walkable. We joined a free walking tour which brought us through the Old Town, to the Jewish Quarter which the tour would be ended at the super famous and beautiful Charles Bridge.

    The photo series below will brings you into the tour of Prague. Prague is small; although it’s the capital of Czech Republic, you could not notice any skyscraper in the city, 90% of the buildings have a long history behind them. Strolling along the street in the city will give you a relaxing sensation. It’s just so chill, calm and touristy! Basically, I find that Prague is like a living museum, with their unique culture, somewhat interesting, but not to the extend of awesome! Nevertheless, there’s a few thing that were quite magnificent and attractive to me – Charles Bridge, Prague Castle and the Prague Astronomical Clock.

    Cut the crap and enjoy the photos of Prague below. Other note, I thought of finishing my blog post series of my Winter Eastern Europe Trip in this week, but then I failed to achieve my target as I was too busy with work lately. Well, I shall continue it when I come back from my short summer gateaway this coming week, so stay tuned and I am definitely going to wrap up the whole thing soon! Cheers!

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

     

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

     

    Cool and funny installation outside Mosaic House.

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Wenceslas Square in the morning with the National Museum of Czech Republic in background.

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    I know how it works. Wahahaha.

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    The famous Prague Astronimical Clock.

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    The Jewish Cemetery, the tour guide told us that they bury the body on top of each other, so it’s quite deep down there!

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague Castle at background.

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    On the super awesome Charles Bridge, but with lots of tourist!

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Say hi to your blogger – Nick Chan.

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

    Prague: Walk In The Old Town, Jewish Quarter & Charles Bridge

  • Prague: Christmas Market At Wenceslas Square

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wenceslas Square

    Eastern Europe Trip // Prague: Christmas Market At Wenceslas Square – After checking into our hostel, we did not hesitate much and headed out to explore the city right away. Though it was a slow walk into the city centre as we found that Prague is not as huge as other capital, in fact it’s small and definitely walkable around the main attractions.

    Before I start with the pictures, I have to say that I am now kinda regret not including Cesky Krumlov into my Prague trip as the beautiful historical town with an awesome palace lies just two hours from Prague. So the lesson is, do more research before heading for a trip as we just went through briefly on the travel guide about Prague when planning.

    Back to the post, we didn’t really do much research on Prague as we were just relying on the free tours and the guide map. Since it’s dark out there in the afternoon, the only thing we could do and enjoy was to check out the Christmas Market at Wenceslas Square. There’s two Christmas Market, one at the Old Town Square and another at Wenceslas Square. However, we only went to one at night because we thought that Christmas Market all looks just the same, moreover we would be checking the other one out during the free walking tour, so….. HAHA.

    The road to the city centre was slow and quiet; the bustle atmosphere and chattering can only be felt when nearing the New Town. Since Prague is so small and relaxing, the night was explored slowly with no rush. =)

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wencenlas Square

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wencenlas Square

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wencenlas Square

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wencenlas Square

     

    Beautiful graffiti in Prague. I like how they spray it well and not spray it like a mess.

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wencenlas Square

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wencenlas Square

     

    Welcome to the Christmas Market at Wenceslas Square, the same Christmas Market’s food like sausage, candy, mulled wine and more.

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wencenlas Square

     

    Bata! Many people in Malaysia is still not aware that Bata is actually a Czech Republic’s company! It’s my favourite brand for white school shoes during my school days! =)

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wencenlas Square

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wencenlas Square

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wencenlas Square

     

    First try on hot mulled wine @ 2.5Euro per cup. Taste weird, but quite nice to drink in a cold weather.

    Prague: Christmas Market At Wencenlas Square

    Looks like a parliament building or administrative building, but no, it’s the National Museum of Prague.

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