" LIFE has it's share of ups & downs. What truly matters is how you get through those ups & downs "
" In travelling, stop worrying about the high & low, the hot & cold, the long & old, just enjoy the journey. Your journey of LIFE is all about tenacity & perseverance "
" Travelling is really fun. Try as many new adventures as possible while young, able & breathing "
All these adventures of high & low, hot & cold, long & old of my travelling LIFE happened after my retirement at the age of 56 ! One way to get the most out of your retirement LIFE is to look upon it as an adventure. LIFE isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments - finding that best moments in your travelling LIFE is a wonderful experience !
After retirement, if travelling is your passion then you travel for a reason, for a season and for LIFE !
Looking back, I have probably travelled half of the world but my passion in travelling is driving me to carry on, move on and live on …. I yearn to see more ....
Here goes my travel stories of the high & low, the hot & cold, the long & old .....
The Highest
1) At age 57 - a jeep ride to the highest Mountain Pass - Chang La (5,289m) from Kashmir to Leh / Ladakh, North India (2007)
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| The World's 3rd Highest Mountain Pass - Chang La |
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| Changla Pass, Leh - Northern India - 17,800ft (5,289m) |
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| Snow capped peak - High Altitude Sickness ? |
Upon my return trip from Leh to New Delhi, I took a bus ride - reported to be the most dangerous & beautiful road from Leh > Manali > Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. The 1898 Kalka-Shimla toy train I took and an overnight stay in the cool hilly resort town of Shimla were one of the most memorable once in a life time trip in my travelling life ! Passion ran high though this happened in my 2nd year of travelling after retirement !
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| Rohtang Pass 13,050ft |
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| Manali Village (2007) |
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| Stunning Scenery (2007) |
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| Beautiful & Awesome |
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| Winding Roads from Leh > Manali > Shimla (2007) |
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| The 1898 Toy Train from Kalka > Shima (2007) |
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| The Highland Resort Town of Shimla, Northern India (2007) |
2) At age 61 - My highest mountain climb (4,095m) to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (my home country) - 2011. This mountain climb has fully tested & proven my mental, physical & spiritual strength and "certified" by the Kinabalu Park authorities !
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| Finally I made it - my first mountain climb (4,095m) |
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| A piece of testimonial to an amateur climber |
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| Prior to the climb - am I looked confident ? |
The Longest
3) At age 59 - My Longest Trans-Siberian Train Ride - 5 days 4 nights (5,192km) from Moscow>Irkutsk, Russia (2009); Irkutsk > Ulan Bator, Mongolia (1,026km); Ulan Bator > Erlian, China (888km) & Erlian by car to Beijing (665km) ! Ambitious, perseverance & tenacity were put in place in order to accomplish this big dream in my world of travelling !
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| Trans Siberian Railway (9,000km) Moscow>Beijing; Moscow>Vladivostok |
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| My 1st leg of Trans-Sib train ride from Moscow > Irkutsk (5,192km) |
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| My 2nd leg of train Ride Irkutsk>Ulan Baotor (1,026km) |
At age 65 - My Longest (10hrs) High Speed (Bullet) Train Ride (1,776km) from Lanzhou, Gansu to Urumqi, Xinjiang - China (2015). Wanting to visit the 2 neighboring countries of China ie Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan hence this high speed train ride to Urumqi and then a border crossing from Korgas, China to Almaty, Kazakhstan - a long, arduous overland trip full of challenges !
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| Almaty, Kazakhstan (2015) |
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| Lanxin (Lanzhou>Xinjiang) High Speed Rail Line, China
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| High Speed Train from Lanzhou>Urumuqi- 250km / hr (2015) |
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| Comfortable Seats |
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| Spectacular Scenery - Gobi Dessert (2015) |
At 59, my longest distance travel (45 days) from 1) Kuala Lumpur to London by flight (10,549km); 2) by Eurolines buses (3,759km) from London > Amsterdam (Netherlands) > Brussels (Belgium) > Paris (France) > Prague (Czech Republic) > Budapest (Hungary) > Riga (Latvia) > Talinn (Estonia) > St Petersburg (Russia); 3) by trains (7,260km) from St Petersburg > Moscow > Irkutsk > Ulan Bator (Mongolia) > Erlian (China) ; 4) by private taxi (car pool-665km) from Erlian > Beijing; 5) by train (174km) from Beijing > Tianjin and then by flight (4,298km) from Tianjin > Kuala Lumpur. The entire journey involved 11 countries starting from England and ending in China !
Total distance travelled = 14,847km (flights) + 11,858km (train/bus/car)
1) Kuala Lumpur > London (by flight) = 10,549km
2) London > Amsterdam > Brussels > Paris > Prague > Budapest > Riga > Talinn > St Petersburg (by Eurolines Bus) = 3,759km
3) St Petersburg > Moscow > Irkutsk > Ulan Bator > Erlian = 7,260km
4) Erlian > Beijing (by car) = 665km
5) Beijing > Tianjin (by train) = 174km
6) Tianjin > Kuala Lumpur (by flight) = 4,298km
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| KL>London>St Petersburg>Moscow>Irkutsk>Ulan Bator>Erlian>Beijing>Tianjin>KL |
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| World Map |
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| Eurolines Bus connect major cities in Europe |
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| Air Asia Flight from Kuala Lumpur > London (2009) |
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| Train from Moscow > Irkutsk, Russia (2009) |
The Lowest
4) At age 58 - visited the Dead Sea, Jordan the lowest point in the world, 394m below sea level (2008)
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| I went for a swim for 15 mins in this public beech, Dead Sea, Jordan |
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| The Salty Beach - Dead Sea (2008) |
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| The Private Beach, Dead Sea, Jordan (2008) |
At age 56 - my 1st backpacking trip to Turpan Depression, (Xinjiang) the lowest part in China, & 2nd lowest on Earth (after the Dead Sea) at 154m below sea level (2006)
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| Turpan, Xinjiang - China (2006) |
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| Monkey God Statute in Turpan (2006) |
The Longest
5) At age 58 - The longest River I visited - Nile, Africa (4,180 miles) 2008, At age 59 - the Yangtze River (3,710 miles) 2009 & at age 65 - Huang He or Yellow River, China (2,900 miles) 2015
Nile River, Africa (2008)
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| The Nile River, Egypt (2008) |
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| The Nile River - in front of Abu Simbel Temple, Egypt (2008) |
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| Nile River, Cairo, Egypt (2008) |
Yangtze River, China (2009)
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| Yangtze River, China |
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| Yangtze River, China |
Huang He (Yellow River), China (2015)
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| Huang He, Lanzhou, China (2015) |
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| Huang He - First Bridge, Lanzhou, China (2015) |
6) At age 61 - My Longest Eurolines Bus (Single Day) Ride (1,342km - 28 hrs) from Oslo, Norway > Paris, France
Eurolines Bus routes (covering 6 countries): Oslo (Norway) > Gothenburg (Sweden) > Copenhagen (Denmark) > Cologne (Germany) > Brussels (Belgium) > Paris (France)
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| Map of Europe |
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| Oslo, Norway (2011) |
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| Paris, France (2011) |
At age 64 - My Longest Eurolines Bus (Single day) Ride (1,188km - 28.45hrs) from Bucharest, Romania > Munich (Germany) - 2014
Eurolines bus route (covering 4 countrues): Bucharest, Romania > Hungary > Vienna, Austria > Munich, Germany
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| Map of Eastern Europe |
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| Eurolines Office, Bucharest, Romania (2014) |
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| Munich, Germany (2014) |
The Hottest
7) At age 56 - The Hottest City (48'C) I visited - Turpan, Xinjiang - China (2006)
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| Thermometer indicator showing 48c in Turpan, Xinjiang |
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| Flaming Mountain in Turpan (2006) |
The Coldest
At age 62 - The Coldest Weather (-16C) I had ever experienced - Phoenix Park Ski Resort, South Korea (2012) - my first overseas travel in winter - a great fun after seeing the fallen snow, taking a stroll on a snowy night, seeing the snowflakes melting, bitterly cold weather to test your endurance ....
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| Early Winter In Phoenix Park, South Korea (2012) |
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| The night temperature was - 16C in Dec 2012 |
The Most
Of the 73 countries I visited thus far in my life, China is probably the country which I visited the most time - a total of 17 visits over the period from 1997 to 2015, the first was in 1997 at age 47. Except Tibet, I had visited all the provinces, municipal cities & autonomous regions of China.
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| Beijing, China (June 2009) |
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| Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan, China (Sept 2009) |
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| Taishan, Shandong, China (2010) |
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| Shenyang, China (2011) |
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| Fenghuang, Hunan, China (2012) |
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| Chaozhou, Guangdong, China (2013) |
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| Tiger leaping Gorge, Sichuan, China (Sept 2014) |
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| Nanjing County, Fujian Tulou, China (Dec 2014) |
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| Lanzhou, Gansu, China (May 2015) |
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| Dandong, Liaoning, China (Sept 2015) |
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| Nanjing, China (Dec 2015) |
The Oldest
8) At age 58 - The Oldest Cities I visited - Damascus & Aleppo, Syria (2008); At age 60 - visited Athens, Greece (2010)
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| Aleppo, Syria (2008) |
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| Turkish / Aleppo border (2008) |
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| Aleppo's popular fresh fruit juice in jar (2008) |
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| Damascus, Syria (2008) |
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| Old Bazaar Market, Damascus (2008) |
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| Umayyard Mosque, Damascus (2008) |
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| Athens, Greece (2010) |
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| Athens, Greece (2010) |
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