Hualien, just 2.5 hours train ride from Taipei, gives you a great look at the natural beauty of Taiwan. It was a week long trip to Taiwan where I squeezed in 2 nights to travel and explore Hualien.

The most popular transportation from Taipei to Hualien would be by train, which only takes 2.5 hours. TRA releases their tickets online for reservation 14 days prior to the date of travel. We've been advised by our airbnb host to login early to purchase the tickets to ensure we get the good tickets and good timings. It's highly recommended to book your tickets in advance. Even for us, we did not manage to get our ideal tickets despite logging on early.

Upon arrival, we went to get our rented car. We've decided to do road trip for Hualien, exploring the scenic areas, taking on the drive by ourselves. We dropped by the information center to get some ideas on where to visit too since we did not fully finalise our itinerary.

We ended up with this plan for the 2.5 days we had in Hualien.

Day 1:
Taroko Gorge National Park

Day 2:
East Rift Valley National Scenic Area
East Coast National Scenic Area

Day 3:
Qixingtan Beach
Qingshui Cliff Scenic Area

If you're arriving in Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, there are many options on travelling to the city. My favourite is to hop on a Blue Bird taxi. It's affordable, safe and comfortable.

However, for first-timers in Jakarta, getting a Blue Bird taxi might be confusing. So here's how you can ease through the airport and hop on the taxi to your hotel in a budget yet comfortable way.

Upon leaving the arrival hall, you will see some booths on your right for taxi companies. You would be tempted but I wouldn't recommend them as they tend to be twice the cost of a normal taxi you might get.

To your front, you will see a lot of people waiting by the railings. Turn left and exit the building before the crowd. You'll see a lot more people waiting around outside too. Ignore all of them and just continue walking. You would walk past the toilets and just continue going that direction. There would be a lot of people approaching you, asking if you want a taxi. Just continue walking.

Look out for a kiosk. The kiosk will be a distance away from the Blue Bird taxi queue. On the kiosk, you'll see two buttons. Click on the Blue Bird taxi and get your queue number.

There will be a guy in the Blue Bird uniform calling out numbers for the taxis. Walk towards him and standby. There is also a TV with the queue numbers but when I was there, it was not working.

Once your number is called, wave your queue number at the guy in uniform and he will escort you into the taxi.

My taxi cost only 160,000 out from the airport to the city center, inclusive of tolls and airport charges. Half the price of what my friend got from one of the guys in the airport.

Last December, I visited Philippines for the first time in my life. Was looking for a beach holiday getaway and realised that many of the places have already been explored by either one of us. Krabi, Bali, Phuket, Bintan, Langkawai, Tioman, Redang, etc.

In the end, we settled on Cebu, a place neither of us have been to. Flights were relatively cheap and we flew by Cebu Pacific. Since it was a midnight flight, we managed to reach Cebu early in the morning, ready to start our activities.

One thing to take note is that the traffic is horrible in Cebu and you should expect to spend a lot of time stuck in traffic. And it's always good to arrange for transportation with your accommodation!

Our Moalboal accommodation provided transportation services - an air-conditioned SUV for 3,000 php. It took us 3 hours to get from Cebu to Moalboal.



We had the most amazing guesthouse which we booked directly through them - to avoid airbnb fees. It was a little risky but we did our research thoroughly and decided that this was the safest, nice and cheap accommodation.

Honestly, if I were to ever return to Moalboal, I would definitely return to the guesthouse. The owners have 3 lovely, friendly dogs. They were pretty adorable and when I went on a morning walk alone, one of them even followed me (until a neighbour's dog started barking at it and scared it away).



They even have hammocks in the garden, where we spent every night of our trip lying there, admiring the stars and talking. We even spotted a couple of shooting stars! That's how amazing the visibility of stars were. As we were in the rural part of the country, there was hardly any light pollution which made the nights on the hammock amazing.

Drop a comment with your email if you're interested in the accommodation and I'll share it with you!

Canyoneering

One of the activities you can do in Moalboal is Canyoneering. That was our first stop - Canyoneering at Badian. It is approximately 1,500 php per person and last 2-3 hours long.

Equipments - safety helmets, life vests, and a pair of track shoes are included in the price, along with a simple lunch after your canyoneering adventures. Price also included guides (which we had two)!



Canyoneering involved a lot of waddling in the water, sliding down rapids, and the highlight - jumping off waterfalls and cliffs. If you're an adrenaline junkie, don't miss out on this! Scroll all the way down to look at our adventures in the vlog! :)



See the people behind on the top of the waterfall, that's where you'll jump off. It doesn't look that scary from here but when you're up there, looking down, I suppose it's kind of scary. I opted out of it due to health issues.

We even had a stop inbetween where we danced with the locals and took a swing into the water. Video below!



At the end of the trip, you'll find yourself at Kawasan Falls. There, you wait for your turn to get on the raft where the guides will bring you across the water to the waterfall, and let the waterfall give you a "massage". It's really really painful for the water to hit on your back honestly. But good experience!

Osmena Peak

After a tiring adventure jumping off waterfalls, we washed up and head over to Osmena Peak. We had a lovely guide bring us up, who also doubled as a photographer.



The amazing thing about Osmena Peak is all the tiny little peaks across the area. A great place to watch the sunset. And the hike up was really short, approximately 10 - 15 minutes (depending on how fit you are). Moreover, the hike wasn't that steep so it was a really easy climb for a really amazing view.

Island Hopping & Sardine Run

The next morning, after a lovely breakfast with our hosts, we went on island hopping and sardine run! We booked through our hosts and they managed to bargain the price down for us - telling the operators that it was one of our birthdays, which was true actually.



Honestly, the island hopping was not very memorable. The sea wasn't exceptionally beautiful or clean. One of the guides even showed us a starfish (plenty of starfishes in the sea there). We only managed to catch a glimpse of the sea turtle.

But the best part was the sardine run. The location was a little unexpected as it was really near the shore and the sea wasn't clean at all. But the sardines - they were amazing. It was like watching the northern lights dance, but in this case, watching sardines dance in the sea. And if you try to scare the sardines, they would quickly disperse and make another line.

White Beach

After the island hopping in the morning and a hefty lunch, we went to White Beach to spend the rest of our day chilling and relaxing. There's admission fee for White Beach by the way, and if you want to use any of the shades, it will cost money too.

We even caught the sunset by the beach. The good thing about our accommodation was that they also arranged a motorbike taxi for us whenever we wanted to go somewhere. The driver waited for us for 2 hours as we chilled by the beach, soaking in Vitamin E.



After a long day, out in the sun, we headed over to Panagsama Beach Street for dinner and drinks. Again, our driver waited for us to finish dinner and drinks so whenever we were done, we went over to the carpark and there he was. This made things easier as we did not have to look and hail for a taxi randomly.

Unfortunately, our stay in Moalboal ended the next day as we headed back to Cebu to send our dear friend off first, before we continued the next part of our trip in Cebu. If I could plan this trip again, I would have allocated more time in Moalboal and skip the entire Cebu part of the trip.

Definitely one of the best beach getaway ever, with a good mixture of chill and adrenaline rush.

Tokyo is one of my favourite cities in the world. It's a place where I can visit every year, no every month, and not get tired of.

The food is definitely one of the reasons I keep returning to this bustling city, though there are definitely more reasons than the food.

So here's a list of my favourite places to go when I'm in Tokyo.

Long overdue post.

Threw a surprise bachelorette party/trip to Bali for my best friend. We only told her we were bringing her on a trip and kept the location and everything else from her. We even changed currency for her so she would not know where we were headed to.

Last year was eventful with me having to fly to Japan on three occasions and I can't be more grateful to be able to witness the transition from Summer to Autumn. Now that I've finally settled down and have some time, it's time to catch up on my adventures from last year.

I went on a 12 days Japan trip and while I went to some of the same places as I did a few years ago, I skipped out on Mt Fuji. If you're interested to know more about my trip to Mt Fuji, check out my previous post. I'll do up another post on the food gems I've found in Japan but meantime, here's my Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kanazawa, and Takayama itinerary.

There is always a need to pack your bags according to where you are travelling. If you're exploring a big city, the essentials in your bag differs from what you would bring on a hike or a beach getaway.

As for every trip, there are definitely some common essentials that I would always bring along with me whenever I am travelling.

1. Hand Sanitizer

I'm not much of a clean freak but sometimes it's really handy to have a hand sanitizer, especially when washrooms are not easily accessible. Also, the hand sanitizer has a really nice scent which would also come in handy whenever the place (or someone) smells.

2. Jacket

3. Headphones

4. Kindle

5. Umbrella

6. Water Bottle

7. Laptop

Gaston Luga is a Swedish brand that specialises in minimalistic backpacks and takes pride in their quality. Check out their brand video:



Use 'michellegosh' for a 15% off your Gaston Luga backpack purchase. Also, on top of a 15% off, you also get a 20% off tax rebate for any orders outside of Europe. So it's a HUGE discount off. Here's an example of the price breakdown should both discount be applied.



Also, Gaston Luga has just started a limited seasonal offer for the upcoming holiday season, in which a free leather address tag will be added to every backpack order by a customer. This seasonal offer will be available while the leather address tags stocks last.

I was really excited to receive my backpack, so much so that I immediately brought it along on my Japan trip and I can't stress how great it was. It was neither too big nor too small to keep all my travel essentials and I foresee bringing my Gaston Luga backpack on more of my future adventures.

I even brought it along to DisneySea and could even bring the backpack up on the rides. The backpack actually fitted into most of the rides' front pouches.


Once again, a huge thank you to the Gaston Luga marketing team. :)

The German Alpenstrasse, also known as the German Alpine Road, is a series of roads winding through the Bavarian Alps. It features breathtaking sceneries, weaving through Bavarian towns and castles.

While researching for my Germany road trip last winter, I ended with two roads, the Romantic Road and the German Alpine Road. Unlike the Romantic Road, there were limited articles on the German Alpine Road, but the few articles promised spectacular sceneries.

Last year May, I spent 10 days travelling all around Taiwan. Well, the initial plan was to travel around the entire island but due to unforeseen circumstances (like our driver miscalculating the time to travel to the ferry terminal), we had to make some major changes to our itinerary at the last minute.



Our first stop was Taichung. Upon arrival in Taiwan International Taoyuan Airport, we took the bus to Taichung. Our initial plan was to take the HSR but we realised that travelling by bus has more economic value. The buses can be found at the basement of the airport terminal. It only cost NT240 for the trip and the journey was approximately 2hours long.

After a month's stay in Prague, I returned to Singapore the day after Christmas. The flight back was approximately 17 hours long, including a transfer at Dubai. The fortunate me had one of my flights bumped up to First Class.



The seat was unfamiliar and the steward was more than willing to explain the seat functions. The personal legroom for First Class was amazing. Similarly to the Business Class, the seat was able to recline flat, perfect for sleeping. The First Class came with a remote controlled privacy door which was lovely because I could sleep in peace without having someone looking over me. The entertainment screen was also significantly bigger. The drinks bar was also remote controlled but the drinks selection was similar to what you get in Business Class.

I think what was the most surprising thing I experienced in First Class was the ability to have a hot shower on board. The bathroom was huge and beautiful, and came with showering capabilities. There was a need to book a timeslot to use the shower spa though. Also, there was a limited 5 minutes usage of water so you can't simply waste too much of the water in the showers.

Honestly, I felt really pampered and had a really amazing experience on board with Emirates. If you would like to have a sneak peak into my flight experience, here's a short video :)

Since I am in Prague for a business trip, I made use of the weekends to do some exploring. If you're interested to read more my adventure in Prague, check out my older travel post on my Prague trip in 2014. I'll be updating a new blog post on my current Prague trip when I return to Singapore (which will be in 2017).

Kutna Hora is a historic town located an hour train ride from Prague. Kutna Hora is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site, home to some of the most magnificent churches. Kutna Hora also sits on a silver mine.

Kutna Hora is an hour train ride from Prague. To get to Kutna Hora, buy your train ticket either online or at the Prague main train station (Praha Hln). The train will take you to Kutna Hora Hln and you'll have to switch to a connecting train to get to the town center, Kutna Hora Meso station. So make sure your ticket brings you to Kutna Hora Meso instead of Kutna Hora Hln. The return ticket will cost 209czk. The train comes at an interval of 2hours in the morning so make sure you check the timings, especially on your way back.

I alighted at Kutna Hora Meso and walked to the town center. It was winter, and one of the coldest days, so nobody was on the streets. The shops were all closed too so I highly recommend not to come in winter.

The first stop is to the Church of St Barbara.

It's such an amazing sight just walking to the church. I took a rather long way, winding some alleys, because I got kind of lost and I was refusing to take off my gloves to navigate the map on my phone because it was freezing.

Church of St Barbara is a gothic style cathedral that began construction in 1388 but was only completed in 1905.

The entrance fee for the church is 60czk and you can actually get a bundle ticket which will include the other main attractions in Kutna Hora.

To be honest, I did not do much research before going over so I had no expectations and idea of what the main attractions looked like. Neither did i know that there's an entrance fee. So I went in on a Sunday when there was service and managed to sneak in for free. I only realised that there was an entrance fee when I was buying tickets at the other attractions and they were showing the bundle package which included Church of St Barbara.

Before leaving, there's this hidden gem with a great view of Kutna Hora just next to the cathedral.

This is the Stone Fountain in Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora Stone House is around the corner and unfortunately, it's closed in winter. During warmer days, you can actually go on a tour into the silver mines.

As mentioned earlier, it's winter and not a single shop was open. So at the sight of an opened store, I went in immediately. The chocolate museum serves chocolates made in Czech and they allowed tasting. So I kind of left the store with a little more chocolates than expected.

Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is the other attraction in Kutna Hora. While the Church of St Barbara is located at the Kutna Hora Meso station, the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is closer to the Kutna Hora Sedlec station.

It takes 30 minutes to walk from the town center to the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist. Would not really recommend it so it's better to take the train.

While the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist has a gothic style, the interior of the church has a clean look with the minimalistic style.

But the key attraction of Kutna Hora has to be the Sedlec Ossuary. My colleagues, who recommended me to visit Kutna Hora, was raving about the bone church where they used bones to decorate the interior.

It's a little unusual to use bones to decorate a place but it's definitely an interesting sight. There's piles and piles of bones lined up as decorations.

To be honest, I felt Kutna Hora to be a little underwhelming in the winter with the empty streets and closed shops. But it was definitely worth the escape from Prague to visit somewhere less crowded. If you have extra time on your hands, do drop by Kutna Hora.

Will be updating the blog again real soon as I will be clearing some of my backlogs from my other previous travel adventures.

Till then!