April 2013
2 posts
18 tags
Pink flamingos in a fairytale lake at Laguna...
The stunning red Laguna Colorada high up in the Bolivian altiplano
In what must be a teenage girl’s ultimate fantasy, we came arrived at Laguna Colorada to be greeted by thousands of pink flamingos set amidst a pink and red lake within the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve in the Bolivian altiplano.
The morning sun had barely peeked up from the horizon, and the air was thin and...
16 tags
Eating dust and crunching salt in the Atacama...
A view of the driest desert in the world, the Atacama Desert in Chile as we approached in the bus.
The dust was everywhere, in my hair, in my socks, in my mouth, and liberally coating anything that was not covered. San Pedro de Atacama is a small oasis in the middle of the Atacama desert in Northern Chile, the driest desert in the world. Some of the places in the desert have never recorded rain,...
March 2013
6 posts
7 tags
Ode to a bad dinner on the road
There are few things more annoying to me whilst on the road than a bad dinner, especially one where you feel you’ve overpaid for. It always seems like a good idea at the time, trundling along the cold street, with the evening wind picking up, churning up dust and debris from the ground and whipping it past your face. Pulling your jacket higher, in a vain attempt to keep out the cold, you...
15 tags
Love, Life and everything in between in...
A lifetime supporter of local Valparaiso football club Santiago Wanderers, this old lady was keen to show off her team affiliations when I asked her for a portrait
A young couple on the streets of Valparaiso
Notwithstanding the fact that we were in Valparaiso over Valentine’s Day, there was certainly a passion and a palpable love of life evident in everyday Valparaiso. Be it the group of...
17 tags
Dead Poets and Dog Shit in Valparaiso, Chile
Gorgeous architecture and bright colours are the hallmark of Valparaíso
Kent, the owner of Hostal Mariposas, where we spent restful nights, sharing insider tips of the hostel business
A vague smell of the sea (ok, rotting fish) and the less ambiguous stench of dog excrement greeted us as we stepped out from the bus station, wobbling under the weight of our bags, which were hanging off us like...
17 tags
Handcarry Only's Okavango adventure on CNN Travel
I’m terribly pleased to announce that Handcarry Only is now a contributor to CNN Travel, arguably one of the web’s leading authorities on travel and leisure. But mostly, I’m just chuffed that Handcarry Only gets to be seen by even more people around the world.
A few months ago, as part of my African adventure, I ventured in the fabled Okavango Delta in Botswana in a creaky wooden...
17 tags
Hippies, Hammocks, Havens and a bit of Tranquilo...
The most strenuous activity might be getting in and out of the hammocks
A stream with crystal clear glacial water provided the soundtrack for the idyll afternoons
The late afternoon sun peeked through the leaves on the walnut tree, flickering as the breeze swayed my hammock ever so slightly from side to side. I had been in this same position for the past two hours… or was it three? In...
13 tags
Seeking Fitz Roy amongst the clouds in El Chaltén,...
The majestic Cerro Fitz Roy, with the turquoise glacial Laguna de los tres in front
At the very first mirador (viewpoint) of the hike
A fine shroud of dust hung in the air in front of me, drifting slowing to one side and catching the late morning sun in its ethereal cloud. The trees on either side of the path were absolutely still, with nary a hint of breeze in the air, which was still cool...
February 2013
2 posts
15 tags
Icy wombs and glacial tombs in Argentinian...
The blue lakes and rivers break up the landscape dominated by brown
The magnificent Perito Moreno glacier is one of very few glaciers in the world that are still advancing
The view outside of the aircraft window on the flight from Buenos Aires down to El Calafate was dominated by a rather barren landscape, mostly brown and dry, punctuated by the occasional lake, gleaming like a blue gem on a...
12 tags
Part 2 | National heroes, heavenly hosts and hot...
A guard in ceremonial dress guards Argentine liberator, General San Martin’s tomb in the Metropolitan Cathedral
A tango dancer waiting for her partner in the La Boca district of Buenos Aires, the birthplace of Tango
Political murals are commonplace on the walls of buildings throughout the city
The predominant colour scheme of all things Argentinian, the distinctive colours of the...
January 2013
8 posts
15 tags
Part 1 | National heroes, heavenly hosts and hot...
A pit stop for the morning dog walkers
A lone cat wanders the narrow lanes of Recoleta Cemetary
“Faded elegance” is one of the adjectives I’ve heard being used to describe Buenos Aires and it could not be more apt. Majestic and opulent, but also delapidated and somewhat run down, she presents itself as a city of contrasts. Perhaps, the everlasting symbol of Buenos Aires, Evita herself presents...
16 tags
Daydreams of peanut butter and char siew in Buenos...
The lulling effect of the late afternoon sun claims yet another victim
Public busses in Buenos Aires, Colectivos, are a cheap and efficient way to navigate the vast city
I got thinking one afternoon, hanging on a greasy pole in a colectivo hurtling from stop to stop barely 2 blocks apart, the late afternoon sun sending everyone, or those with the luxury of a seat anyway, nodding away in motion...
25 tags
Mate, Vino, Bife, Dale - The Porteños of Buenos...
Lady and dog in blue
Lazy sunday morning in La Boca
A hint as to the origins of the inhabitants of Buenos Aires lies in the collective name they have chosen to call themselves, Porteños, or People of the Port. The population is largely comprised of immigrants from Europe, primarily Italy and Spain who arrived by boat in the late 19th century and early 20th century when the Argentine government...
14 tags
9 tags
17 tags
19 tags
A Tale of two falls, from Victoria to Iguazu
The Brazilian side of the falls offers a panoramic view, albeit from a little further away than I would have liked
The view from across the border in Argentina
We trudged along in the 35 degree (or 95 Farenheit for my readers in the New World) heat, sweating buckets and fending off mozzies hovering around our heads. The liberal coating of insect repellent on my arms and neck seemingly doing...
15 tags
Sipping Agua de Coco and kicking cobblestones in...
The quaint port town of Paraty lies along Costa Verde, the Green Coast of Brazil
The architecture has been preserved all these years, aided in part by the mass exodus of the town that left it nearly empty for many years
A hop, skip and jump (ok, 4 hour bus ride) from the world famous Rio de Janeiro along the Costa Verde (Green Coast) of Brazil lies the little UNESCO heritage town of Paraty,...
December 2012
5 posts
14 tags
Faces of Rio de Janeiro
Apart from my daily diet of Açai na tigela (a sorbet of the Amazonian super berry with granola and banana), another favourite activity whilst in Rio was to people watch. Brazil is possibly one of the most racially diverse cultures in the world, and the most varied in my travels so far. People of all colours and heritage identify themselves as being Brazilian. A hodgepodge of immigration from...
14 tags
20 tags
A week in Cidade Maravilhosa, the Marvelous City...
The district of Botafogo at twilight.
The cable car up to Pão de Açúcar, with Praia Vermelha in the foreground.
Home to the largest carnival in the world, the fabled Carnaval and set enviably amongst the stunning natural surrounds of Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro is the most visited city in South America. The stomping ground of the rich and famous as well as the more budget constrained...
19 tags
The Girl from Ipanema and the Cariocas on...
Immortalised in the mid sixties Bossa Nova hit, “The Girl from Ipanema” by Antõnio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, Ipanema Beach has been drawing crowds from around the world ever since. Sister beach Copacaba is arguably just as famous, and the quintessential model for a city beach.
Personally, when I think of a beautiful beach, the image conjured up is usually of a gently curving bay,...
14 tags
Grand sculptures and Japanese Immigrants in St...
Winged seraphims and dramatic bodies sculpted in stone greeted us as we entered the Necropolis São Paulo, also known as St Paul Cemetery. The sculptures would not look out of place in a medieval church, and indeed, some of the monuments and family mausoleums are almost little chapels unto themselves.
The resting place of many a Paulista elite, Necropolis São Paulo has seen over 140,000 burials...
November 2012
6 posts
18 tags
Aesthetic vandalism at Buco do Batman, São Paulo,...
As a good Singaporean, I am brought up to revile graffiti in all its myriad heinous forms. Defacing public property? Vandalism of street furniture? Oh, the shock and the horror. Afterall, we are the nation that put American teenager Michael Fay in the slammer and subjected him to some good old fashioned ‘corporal punishment’ when he decided to practice his redecorating skills on some cars...
17 tags
2 hours in Zambia
A passing lorry kicks up a cloud of dust whilst a group of nuns make their way across the Zim-Zam border.
Our yellow fever vaccination documents.
We did a border run over to Livingstone in Zambia whilst we were at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Having changed travel plans, we were no longer scheduled to visit Zambia, but not wanting to let our $300 yellow fever vaccinations (required for entry) go...
15 tags
One off the bucket list - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Known to the locals as Mosi Oa Tunya, “The Smoke That Thunders”, the Victoria Falls were a sight to behold, even in the dry season when we were there, where the flow of the water was a mere fraction of what one might see during the wet season from November to March. More than double the height of the Niagara Falls, the cascading sheets of water raise a mist that heralds one’s arrival to the falls,...
19 tags
From the African veld to the concrete jungle
The difference could not be more stark, after 2 months of being surrounded largely by nature, mountains, forests, the ocean, deserts and mostly small towns, I find myself thrust into the third largest city on the planet, São Paulo. Where there was the silence of the night, occasionally punctuated by animal sounds, now police sirens and the low mechanical drone of twenty four hour traffic are...
18 tags
Horses, furry hats and party folk at Claren’s...
We arrived at village of Clarens to blue skies and gorgeous weather, and coincidentally, also in time for the centenary celebrations of the town. The sleepy mountain retreat was abuzz with activity and it seemed like everybody and his horse had made their way to the town to celebrate, with feathery hats to boot.
School’s out and the party’s on!
Named after Clarens in Switzerland...
20 tags
Evading bugs, catching fish and watching sunsets...
An oasis in Botswana’s harsh and arid Kalahari Desert, the Okavango Delta is one of the largest inland deltas in the world. Originating in Angolan highlands as the Cubango River before it flows into Namibia as the Kuvango River and eventually ending up in Botswana as the Okavango River, it breaks up into a huge labyrinth of channels, lagoons and islands, forming the Okavango Delta, a haven for...
October 2012
7 posts
12 tags
16 tags
15 tags
17 tags
16 tags
13 tags
15 tags
September 2012
7 posts
12 tags
15 tags
17 tags
17 tags
16 tags
14 tags
17 tags
August 2012
4 posts
10 tags
9 tags
8 tags
10 tags
July 2012
3 posts
10 tags
5 tags
12 tags
