Annually celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month in the Chinese calendar, the Mid-Autumn Festival is filled with ancients legends, Chinese customs, colourful lanterns and delicious round cakes made from lotus seed, red bean or walnuts and pumpkin seeds. While Singapore is known for its extravagant display of lanterns throughout the city, this unique...
With sacred springs and pools of purification, Tirtha Empul’s water is said to be holy and possess magical healing elements. Founded in the 10th century and constructed on a site of a large natural spring, the temple was built by the Warmadewa Dynasty in 926A.D. The Balinese people believe it to be a creation of Lord Indra, the God of rainfall, while its streams and...
36 Hours in a city can seem like a short trip, but if you spend the whole day exploring without too many tea breaks in between, what you can see and do in Sydney gets very interesting. With its sparkling harbour waters, cosmopolitan cafe culture and interesting history, discover Sydney by foot for a walkabout of your very own. Sydney is built around a beautiful...
The NTUC Income Kite Festival 2011 in Singapore presented by act3 International was held at The Promotory at Marina Bay, a weekend event themed with fun. It featured traditional and professional kite flyers while also providing room for everyday folk to come out and experience what it is like to fly a kite of your own. The obvious flavour of the festival were Angry...
The tropical sunny weather in Singapore makes a visit to the zoo ideal any day of the week, but remember to bring an umbrella and sun tan lotion as the sun rays can get pretty strong. With an open zoo concept, the animals are kept in spacious landscaped enclosures separated from the visitors by either dry or wet moats. The most interesting time to view the animals is...
Grand prayer halls, minarets, balustrades and elaborate domes are common in mosques all over the world. What makes one mosque different from another is the story of their beginnings and the uniqueness of their architecture. With golden onion domes, slim minarets and a white outer structure with orange pipping, The Sultan Mosque in Singapore has a long history that...
Apart from its rich marine life and nature reserves, Indonesia is known for its variety in textiles and traditional batiks. Home to all sorts of fabrics in its capital Jakarta is Pasar Baru. Founded by the Dutch and initially named ‘Passer Baroe’ when Jakarta was referred to as Batavia, this souk like trading ground is situated in the heart of the city. In between a...
The most talked about dish on the Island of the Gods revolves around that of a suckling pig. Referred to as ‘Babi Guling‘ by locals, a whole pig is marinated in ground chilli, turmeric and oil and stuffed with more chilli, onions, ginger, galangal, candle nuts, coriander, lemon grass, pepper, dried shrimp paste, coconut, bay leaves and traditional spices...
Made from andesite, here stands a Balinese temple guardian or better known as Dvarapala in Sanskrit. These stone guardians are usually found in front of temple entrances and holy sites as a protector from evil. Dvarapala’s in Indonesia normally depict very fierce looking creatures with a rather bulky physique. Some guardians are often found holding a club in a...
Feature Article on Singapore
As a Travel Mentor on Robert Felton’s Adventure Travel Mentor website, read Travel and Beyond’s feature article on the Top 4 Things to See and Do in Singapore published in August 2011.