Auschwitz & Birkenau July 2014
I debated whether I wanted to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau on this trip. I went in the end and it was such a sobering experience. Auschwitz and Birkenau were the largest of the Nazi concentration camps built during WWII. From 1942-1944, transport trains brought Jews from all over German-occupied Europe to these camps. At least […]
Krakow July 2014
Krakow is one of the oldest cities in Poland. During World War II, Krakow became the capital of the German General Government and because of that, it was spared from much destruction during the war. Krakow has traditionally been one of the leading centers of Polish academic and cultural life with one of the oldest […]
Paris June 2014
Paris is one of my favorite European cities where I have visited countless times since my university days. My god daughter and her mother, one of my closest friends, live in Paris. I would visit at least once a year if not two or three times just to shop, eat, and most importantly to hang […]
Shanghai 1933 Slaughterhouse June 2014
1933 Shanghai is located in Hongkou District of Shanghai. It is designed by the British and built in 1933 to be used as a slaughterhouse. Now, it has been restored as a creative hub with cafes, restaurants, shops, and design workshops. The four storey concrete building is built around a central atrium and has a […]
The Old & the New May 2014
I spent a day wandering around the city of Singapore and checking out some of the streets with old shophouses and colonial buildings side by side with modern high rises. Shophouses here are mostly constructed between the 1840s and the 1960s and are at most two to three storeys tall. The ground floor was used as […]
Yungang Grottoes April 2014
Yungang Grottoes are ancient Buddhist grottoes near the city of Datong in Shanxi province built in the Northern Wei period between the Tang and Song Dynasties. It is one of the three major cave clusters in China, the other two being Longmen and Mogao Grottoes. Here at Yungang, there are altogether 252 grottoes with more […]
The Hanging Temple of Henshan April 2014
The Hanging Temple of Henshan or Xuankong Temple is a temple built into a cliff more than 1,500 years ago. It is about 65 km outside of Datong City in Shanxi Province. The temple is famous not only for its location on a cliff, but also because it is the only existing temple that caters […]
Wang Family Compound Shanxi April 2014
Our visit to the Wang Family Compound or Wang Jia Da Yuan, 35 km outside of Pingyao, was very special and especially meaningful to my family. My last name is Wong, and Wang and Wong are actually the same in Chinese and means “King”. Apparently, all the Wang/Wongs in the world originated here in Shanxi. […]
Pingyao Ancient City April 2014
Pingyao is a county in Shanxi province in China and was once the financial center of China during the late Qing Dynasty. The ancient city at Pingyao is a very well preserved walled city, typical of a traditional Han city in the Ming and Qing dynasties (14th-20th centuries), and still inhabited by about 50,000 residents […]
Xian April 2014
Xian, located in the northwest province of Shaanxi of China, was called Chang’an in the ancient times and is the oldest of the Ancient Capitals of China. It is one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilisation in the Yellow River basin area. Xian has been continuously occupied for over 3,000 years including over 1,100 […]
Terracotta Army in Xian April 2014
Xian, located in the northwest province of Shaanxi of China, was called Chang’an in the ancient times and is the oldest of the Ancient Capitals of China. It is the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the famous Terracotta Army of the Qin Dynasty. The Terracotta Warriors is a collection of terracotta […]
Cartagena March 2014
Cartagena, on the Colombian coast of the Caribbean, served as the main administration center for the Spaniards during the colonial period. The colorful historic center with its 400 year old colonial houses is what inspired writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Galapagos Islands Feb 2014
The long awaited trip to Galapagos Islands has finally happened. It reminded me of going on an African safari but more. If you are prone to seasickness, do not pick a small boat. I was advised before the trip to choose at least a medium size boat because there are nights when the seas can […]
Quito & Otavalo Feb 2014
Quito is the capital of Ecuador and it is the highest official capital city in the world at 2,850 meters above sea level. We did a full day city tour with a private guide who took us to a few churches, up to the Panecillo mountain where the winged Virgin Mary looks over the city, […]
Bogota Feb 2014
Bogota is the capital of Colombia and one of the largest cities in Latin America. The city’s cultural center is the cobblestone historic downtown La Candelabra. Most of Bogota’s attractions are in this area such as Plaza de Bolivar, the Gold Museum, and the Botero Museum. Monserrat Hill is also frequented by visitors for its […]