Taipei, Taiwan - 12 January 2010

With 10 hours to kill while on transit in Taipei on a flight from Singapore to the U.S., I decided to take a speedy trip into the city to see Taipei 101. So, with my passport stamped and money changed (US$35 was more than sufficient), I bought an AirBus ticket into Taipei city center. The 35-minutes (give-or-take) bus ride from TPE airport to Taipei 101 was easy-going even with several stops along the way. It couldn't have been easier or more convenient.

Taipei 101 was cool. I must say, it was a thrill to ride the world's fastest elevator (at a speed of 16.83 metres (55.2 ft)/second) up to the 89th floor - it took a mere 37 seconds for us to reach a height of 382 metres (1,253 ft). The night aerial views from Taipei 101 were amazing. Built with 101 stories (hence the name), the tower was in 2004, ranked the world's tallest building at 508 metres (1,667 ft). After the tour, I sampled some tasty Taiwanese snacks at the basement food court of the building and then left for the airport feeling very satiated. :)

Bali, Indonesia - 18-23 December 2009

I finally visited Bali in December 2009 when my old friend, Mirah, invited me to her newly-built home in Renon, Denpasar-Bali. Her 2-year labor of love (from design to construction) was simply exquisite. From the Ramayana theme of wood-carvings on the front and balcony doors to the curved marble staircase with teak wood handles, the house was a superb extension of Mirah's meticulous taste and elegance. While it's nice to admire the beautiful end-product, it was the entire house-building experience that awed me more. She recounted to me her agonizing experiences of digging for drinkable well water (twice!) on her land and applying for wattage increases (denied a number of times!) from the municipal government, and managing seemingly unmanageable workers who couldn't do things right the first time - this was project management to the max, and with no prior experience to boot! All hail to Mirah for this great achievement!

While in Bali, we ate a lot, did some shopping and pampered ourselves with cream baths (for the hair) and traditional Balinese massages (for the entire body). For those who don't know, a traditional Balinese massage typically includes a 1-hour full-body massage followed by either a tumeric or coconut scrub (choose coconut if you don't want to look yellowish at the end of the session). After the scrub, the masseuse will apply oil /milk on your body and you will then be steamed for 15 minutes. This is the best part of the whole session if you ask me as you will sweat out all the toxins in your body. Immediately after the steam, you will take a bath in a tub and refreshingly cool your body in the process. Next, it's another 15-20 minutes of 'Ratus V' treatment - a heat-steam treatment for the female's private area (an interesting first for me). The 2-hour session cost a mere 110,000 rupiah (about US$14).

Above: Sunset and dusk @ Kuta Beach

Bali's left a good impression on me. I like that she manages to retain her charm and culture in spite of a massive infusion of vacationers and transplants from Europe and Australia. With the exception of a few business owners there who practiced "price differentiation" on the foreigners (it's the same everywhere you go!), it was overall a delight to be around the warm, patient, and ever-so-smiling gentle Balinese. I'm glad that Bali is only a 2.5 hour plane ride each way from Singapore (on no-frills airline, Air Asia) because there is so much more to see and do there. I will definitely return to explore more of this land of the gods and goddesses.

Above left: @ Ubud art market; Above right: @ a friend's wedding in Mengwi

Above left: Legong dance performance @ Ubud; Above right: Ramayana @ Ubud