Stories from around the World
This year has been a great year for our blog. We won several awards and even recently got nominated in the Top 10 Singapore Blog Awards 2014. But the Versatile Blogger Award is where you are nominated by your peers – and that’s something very special. Thank you Travel Notes & Beyond for selecting us! It is truly an honour to be in your list of...
Representing Travel and Beyond, Todd Beltz writes about his experience staying at Big Hotel, Singapore. Anytime someone thinks or mentions the word “big” the first thoughts that come to mind is well, something that is big in size. My first stay in the year old property, BIG Hotel, may not exactly be big in size, but it sure is big in comfort and experience. First...
Next up was Kumamoto, home to a historic castle and the majestic Mt. Aso beyond peaceful emerald plains and sparkling clear waters of its springs and lakes. My return to Japan through Oita had already vetted my appetite to see more of its glorious beauty and so, I began my journey to Kumamoto with eager excitement. The symphonious sounds of Beppu Bay just behind our...
Every July, the Australian Mushroom Growers run a foodservice campaign called Mushroom Mania encouraging the community to eat out during this month and enjoy healthy meals. We had blogged about it in the beginning of the month discussing our tasty mushroom find and the benefits of mushrooms too. Last night we explored the flavours of mushrooms cooked the Indian way...
It was 8.40 am when I set foot in Fukuoka, one of five prefectures in Northern Kyushu and I was excited to have returned to Japan after 25 years. I embarked on this journey aboard Jetstar Asia from Australia via Gold Coast and Narita. This was a 3 day trip around the island of Kyushu and my journey which commenced from the Fukuoka Airport began with a scenic bus ride...
On my solo journey to the land of the rising sun, I had made my way from Canberra to Sydney by bus to catch an early morning flight out to Narita, Japan via Gold Coast on Jetstar. With a 5am check-in and an airport that doesn’t stay open 24 hours; I just had to put up in a hotel. I have travelled alone many times but it had always been for shorter distances...
It’s been a couple of hours into the flight and it’s been great so far inside Jetstar’s Business Class. The hostesses were polite and generous. The menu was gratifying and my co-passenger was a delightful elderly lady from Melbourne whose company was proving to be highly engaging. And so under the sunny skies of wintery Melbourne, the flight readied to take me off to...
The sun was peeking through the curtains and as I pulled the drapes aside, the snow-capped mountains of the Pir Panjal range greeted me with all its glory. Arriving in the dead of the night after a long road trip from Shimla, did not prepare me for the beauty that unfolded in front of my sleepy eyes. My sleepy yawn turned into a jaw dropping gasp at the sight of the...
Well, everyone we know speaks about mushrooms these days. As far as we were concerned mushrooms have not been something that would entice us to go looking for them. Our past encounters with these little bulbs of soft flesh back in Asia have never motivated us to even form an opinion about them. But then we noticed most of our friends were seriously gorging on them...
It started off as a damp and cold day in Sydney. The icy rain pounded mercilessly as we shivered in our padded jackets while we waited for our pick-up from the hotel. People huddled under their umbrellas rushed by. The puddles of water began plinking as the rainfall became heavier and we couldn’t help but wonder if our Wildlife Discovery Tour was going to be washed...