" Take every chance you get in LIFE because some things only happen once "
1) UK - high fatalities in London, total deaths (April 3 2020) 3,605 & 38,168 cases identified ! early stage in containing the virus outbreak not that strict; PM tested positive for Covid-19 & undergoing self isolation; all London train stations shut down; now under lockdown after WHO warns pandemic accelerating !
Malaysia's low cost airliner, AirAsiaX had regularly flights from Kuala Lumpur to London & Paris prior to their suspension of flights in 2015; so I took advantage of the low airfares & made my first visit to London in May 2009. My subsequent visits to London were in 2010, 2011, 2012 (via Paris) & 2014 (via Paris). In April 2012, my wife & brother-in-law joined me on a 14 days free & easy trip to Central Europe (France, Britain, Scotland, Switzerland & Lichtenstein)
 |
| London (2009) |
 |
| London (2010) |
 |
| London (2011) |
 |
| London (2012) |
 |
| Edinburgh, Scotland (2012) |
 |
| London (2014) |
 |
| Cardiff, Wales (2014) |
 |
| The Giant Causeway, North Ireland (2014) |
 |
| Belfast, North Ireland (2014) |
 |
| Dublin, Ireland (2014) |
2) Iran - total cases 53,183 as at April 2 2020 & death toll is 3,294, New Year Nowruz Festival holiday restrictions until April 3 2020, shopping centers, bazaars & major religious sites closed, traditional gatherings ban, WHO had sent diagnostics kits, protective equipment, & medicines to Iran since the first case of Coronavirus reported !
I had so far visited Syria (prior to the Arab Spring), Jordan, Egypt, United Arab Emirates (UAE) & Oman in recent years. In March 2018, I made a solo free & easy visit to Iran during their New Year Nowruz Festival & spent a total of 13 days & visited Tehran, Shiraz, Persepolis, Isfahan, Yard & Qazvin.
 |
| Tehran, Iran (2018) |
 |
| Shiraz, Iran (2018) |
 |
| Persepolis, Iran (2018) |
 |
| Isfahan, Iran (2018) |
 |
| Yard, Iran (2018) |
 |
| Qazvin, Iran (2018) |
3) One for the album, face to face & year to year in my world of travelling from 2006 > 2020 prior to the Coronavirus outbreak ! Also My Good Old Days in travelling after my retirement in May 2006 at the age of 56 ! All my traveling LIFE is like a circle (the world is round anyway), I can't tell you why ! After the Covid-19 outbreak is over, my traveling LIFE is no longer like the yesteryear ! I will have to start with a clean sheet of paper & make some adjustment as the world we are living from now on will no longer be the same ! But I have nothing to lose as I still have a world to see !
1) 2006 - My first backpacking trip with my brother to China (Xian, Turpan, Dun Huang, Xinjiang & Kanas Lake); the start of my traveling LIFE after my retirement in May 2006 ! No looking back since then & I believe the world is your oyster if you have a strong passion, down to earth & enjoy what you are doing ! I had so far done over 20 visits to China & expect more to come as long as I am fit & able ...
 |
| Kanas Lake, Xinjiang, China (2006) |
2) 2007 - My 1st 24 days backpacking trip with International Hospitality Club members to Northern India, Kashmir & Leh / Ladakh, a great trip for me, experiencing the "High & Low, Hot & Cold" along the way as our jeep "ferrying" our group from Kashmir to Leh & Ladakh & an old bus "trucking" me from Leh to Menali for my return trip ! Very adventurous indeed - a once in a lifetime trip for me !
 |
| Ladakh, India (2007) |
3) 2008 - My 37 days solo backpacking trip to Jordan, Syria, Turkey & Egypt - Syria is now a war torn country for the last 10 years, I believed after this overland trip from Jordan to Syria in 2008, there is a very slim chance for me to set foot on Syria again ! As for Turkey, it was a Turkish Delight for me as I was able to revisit Turkey again on a package tour in Nov 2017 with my wife - lucky me !
 |
| The Pyramid, Cairo, Egypt (2008) |
4) 2009 - My 1st 45 days solo backpacking trip to Europe (London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Prague, Budapest, Krakow, Riga & Tallinn), Russia (Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Irkutsk & Lake Baikal), Mongolia (Ulan Bataar) & China (Beijing); this first visit to Europe gave me confidence & I was able to visit over 40 countries in Europe (except Serbia) in my subsequent trips roaming Europe free & easy 4 more times ...
 |
| Winter's Palace, St Petersburg, Russia (2009) |
5) 2010 - My 14 days free & easy visit (together with my wife & sister-in-law) to Japan (Shizuoka, Osaka, Hiroshima, Miyami Island, Hyogo, Himeiji City & Tokyo) - both my wife & myself love visiting Japan & I am glad that I had so far done 2 free & easy visits & 2 package tours in this Land of Rising Sun ...
 |
| Shiraito Falls, Fujinomiya City, Japan (2010) |
6) 2011 - My 9 days solo backpacking trip to Thailand (Hatyai, Bangkok & Nong Khai) & Laos (Vientiane & Lua Prabang) - due to the close proximity between Malaysia & Thailand, thus far I had done 7-8 overland train trips, either solo or with my travel buddies to this Land of Smiles ...
 |
| Vientiane, Laos (2011) |
7) 2012 - My 9 days package tour with my wife to South Korea (Jeju Island, Mt Sorak & Seoul), my first winter experience overseas; hope I could do another free & easy visit to Korea again & I missed eating the Korean Kimchi ...
 |
| Jeju Island, South Korea (2012) |
8) 2013 - My 15 days solo backpacking trip to Nepal (Kathmandu, Pokhara, Sarangkot, Royal Chitwan National Park & Bhatapur); No ABC mountain hiking for me, I just show up to get a better understanding of the cultural aspect of this mysterious country !
 |
| Bhatapur, Nepal (2013) |
9) 2014 - My 10 days free & easy visit with a travel buddy to Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh, Danang, Hue & Hoi Ann) & Cambodia (Phenom Penh); my earliest visits to these two countries were to Hanoi, Vietnam in 2007 & Siem Reap (Angor Wat) in 2006; South Vietnam was my first visit basically to fulfil my dream of seeing Ho Chi Minh city, once upon a time called Saigon during the Vietnam War era !
 |
| Hue, Vietnam (2014) |
10) 2015 - My 13 days free & easy visit with my wife to Eastern China (Hangzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Shanghai & Zhujiajio); a rare winter season visit for both of us in China as we prefer Spring or Autumn for most of our China visits in the past !
 |
| Qingdao, China (2015) |
11) 2016 - My 22 days solo round the North & South islands visit to New Zealand (Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington, Picton, Kaikoura, Christchurch, Wellington, Queenstown, Arrowtown, Frank Josef Glacier & Nelson); my first visit to this KIWI land, clean & green like what their country image portraying as Simply New Zealand !
 |
| Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand (2016) |
12) 2017 - My 6 days free & easy visit with 2 of my travel buddies to Maldives (Hulhumale & Male City); our home grown low cost airline, Air Asia has regular flights to Maldives so my maiden visit to Maldives to admire the beautiful beaches, crystal clear sea & deep blue water of this country, located in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean !
 |
| Hulhumale, Maldives (2017) |
13) 2018 - My 14 days free & easy solo visit to United Arab Emirates (Dubai & Abu Dhabi) & Oman (Muscat); my happiest moment when I visited Burj Khalifah & Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai; also Emirates Palace & Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi; these architectural buildings were very impressive ! Another great outcome in this trip was that I had the opportunity to visit Muscat of Oman ...
 |
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2017) |
14) 2018 - My 12 days package tour with my wife & brother-in-law to Turkey (Istanbul, Ankara, Cappodocia, Pamukkale, Canakkale, Selcuk, & Kusadashi); my 2nd visit so a Turkish Delight awaited me after a lapse of 10 years when I did a 37 days solo free & easy visit to Jordan, Syria, Egypt & Turkey in 2008 !
 |
| Cappadocia, Turkey (2018) |
15) 2019 - My 15 days package tour with my wife & youngest sister to Balkan States, Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia & Slovenia); Though I had earlier visited the Balkan states, but I was more than happy to join my wife & sister for this memorable trip one more time ! The Coronavirus pandemic has now spread to over 180 countries & with travel bans & suspension of international flights, it will take awhile for major European countries to revive their tourism industry & win back tourists ...
 |
| Bucharest, Romania (2019) |
16) January 2020 - My free & easy day trip in my home country, Malaysia (Fraser's Hill, Pahang & Kuala Kubu Bahru, Selangor) with my brother & sister - we all were still able to breathe some fresh air, going uphill or downhill, at this juncture ! Malaysia, my home country was placed under a knowdown from March 18 > April 14 2020 due to the conronavirus outbreak - no more day trips, forget about free & easy travelling & all a traveller could do now is just stay at home, sunrise & sunset, waiting for the good days to come !
" All my LIFE's a circle; But I can't tell you why; Season's spinning round again; The years keep rollin' by " - Let's spin our LIFE one more time after the Covid-19 pandemic is over !
 |
| Fraser's Hill, Perak (2020) |
No comments:
Post a Comment