Austria

Home of the Austrian Ball. Swarovski. Most of the famous composers ~ Mozart, Strauss, Beethoven, to name a few. Gustav Klimt. The Sound of Music. The Alps.

To many, this country stirs up images of waltzes, old architecture, serene lakes and high meadows, snow-capped mountains, and perhaps little children running along singing songs from The Sound of Music?!

Well, Austria is all this and much more. Despite the rather dismal weather when we arrive, there was so much to see and do, that we were completely exhausted by the time we had to leave. I slept 14 hours straight on the first night back home, and am still catching up with my sleep after one week!

We were in Vienna for about 6 days, then took a train to Prague for another 5 days, before coming back to Vienna for 3 days before leaving for home. From Vienna, we did side trips to Salzburg and the Danube Valley.

I shall attempt (yet again) to break up my trip into separate little posts, although I have severe doubts of my commitment! In the meantime, here are some pictures I took of Vienna.

Karntnerstrasse (the main shopping strip)

Schonbrunn Palace (summer palace of the ruling Hapsburgs)

Autumn Leaves

Naschmarkt

Scrumptious Cakes and Coffee

My favourite type of buildings.....old ones!

More in my next posts........hopefully.

Turkey

I finally visited Turkey in March 2010 after so many years of planning and undecisiveness, since there was always some place else better to go! Taking into consideration that not many of my friends are able to accord the same amount of time and/or budget for the trip that I had in mind!

To blog my entire trip in just one posting would be virtually impossible. The country was simply amazing, and one really has to experience it first-hand to thoroughly appreciate all its wonders and splendours.

After 4 months now, the top 5 things that I can simply recall from the top of my head:-

1. Apple Tea

You really can't miss it. It's served everywhere, from the most expensive restaurants to the roadside stores. The locals drink it really really really sweet, and the first time I drank it, I literally gagged. The secret is (if you forget to tell them not to add sugar), is simply to Not Stir, and pray and hope that the sugar will melt at a slower pace than you can drink.

2. Indian Food

Yes, Indian Food. Firstly, I've never really been a huge fan of kebabs. We found this little Indian restaurant tucked away somewhere near to the Ayasofya in Istanbul. They served one of the better Mango Lhassi I've ever tasted, and their food was simply oh-so-heavenly tender and yummy!

The fish here is also generally very fresh, especially along its coastal areas. I can still smell the freshly grilled fish......

3. Cappadocia

I simply LUUUUUURVE this region and it's wild moon-like landscapes (well, I haven't actually been to the moon to really make an objective comparison....). Everything about this place gives off a very mysterious feel, and as we visited during off-season and we were literally the only people there, there was a very surreal feel to the whole place.

4. Friendly locals

They all look like Thugs or worse, but are actually the friendliest and most helpful people that I have come across in my travels. Most of them went out of their way to assist us, especially in the bus stations where there was not a single English sign (well, most of the country does not have English signs) and there weren't many English-speaking people around. Mostly, we will just shout out the name of our destination, and the rest was communicated via sign language.

5. Oh!-So-Good-Looking Guys!

Yes, they were Everywhere! It did not help that it was still winter and they were all walking around in long overcoats and/or jackets, looking like Keanu Reeves in Matrix. Personally, I don't really like Keanu Reeves very much, but you get the picture.

More posts to follow with picture, if I'm hardworking enough, and I remember that I have a blog!

Tivoli and its Villas

My first sight of Tivoli truly took my breath away. It wasn't particularly beautiful like Bath, but probably because I was not expecting it to loom so high above me amongst those hills, it was certainly an eye-catcher.

We visited Villa d'Este and Villa Adriana ~ both are UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Villa d'Este consists of a main villa, which looks out into a truly beautiful garden with sounds of water tinkling from the far right and left.

View of the gardens from the balcony.


The Oval Fountain (Fontana dell'Ovato)

View of the Villa and Dragon Fountains from the Fishpond


View from the center courtyard


View of the Fishponds

Fountain of the Great Cup (Fontana del Bicchierone)

Villa Adriana (or Hadrian's Villa) was the home to Emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd Century. It spans about 250 acres, and consisted of over 30 buildings, most of which are ruins today. The place is so huge (read = TALL buildings) that photos just don't do it justice.

A mock up model of the Villa as it would have been all those centuries ago

Height perspective!

Emperor Hadrian's outdoor swimming pool, flanked by giant-sized statues

Staff quarters

Beautiful Burano

One of the more picturesque places I've ever been to has most definitely got to be the island town of Burano, just off Venice. The entire little village, which is famous for its hand-made lace, is painted in a myriad of colours.

The day that we arrived was cool and sunny, and it was really perfect. There were lots of restaurants/cafes lining the main street, and we had a relaxing lunch whilst watching people stroll by.

Angkor

My 3rd trip to Cambodia. Same place but with different people and different experiences. Took a lot more photos this time around with the digital camera (!) as the past two times I didn't have a digital camera.

First stop was Siem Reap. The weather was actually hotter than I remember, and it was only March. Only managed to visit 3 ruins this time around - seems to be getting less and less each time! The ruins were as I remember, although it was rather a disappointment that we were not able to climb up to the main tower in Angkor Wat. It was barricaded off for some reason - signage was all in Cambodian. I can still remember the first (and only!) time I stared out that window from the tower - capturing the view all the way past the inner wall to the outer moat.

What a sight that was.

Well, tower or no, Angkor Wat is still Angkor Wat!

Angkor Wat

Besides Angkor Wat, we also did Angkor Thom and Ta Phrom. Signs of 'modern intrusion' were seen everywhere - wooden arrows pointing towards the 'correct' way, planks set out for walking, makeshift stairs, etc. There was no more excitement as we were left with no room to Explore and Discover - which was what made the ruins so mysterious and wonderful in the first place. We were 'hoarded' by an invisible hand to walk the 'mass route' :-(

However, it was still Angkor and its years of history still bears down on you. It serves to remind us that even the greatest civilisation can crumble and be ravaged by time.

Bayon

Ta Phrom

Each of the Angkor ruins are individually different and serves a specific purpose - from places of worship, to bath houses, to places of cremation. Each is a testament of the Khmers' lifystyle that has been preserved through the ages so that we may today marvel at their greatness in bygone years.

No Money, No Honey!

That was what one little girl told Steven when he said he had no money to buy souvenirs from her. Hah Hah.

We were taking a break at one of the food stalls around Angkor Thom, and in the short span of time that we were there, we were approached by at least 5 kids, each attempting to peddle their wares to us.

Tourists were lacking and extremely limited, and these kids took it in turns to approach us. Many of them are selling the same items - fridge magnets, bracelets and locally made musical instruments. They are really rather industrious and very bright! It was really entertaining chatting with them and they came up with all sorts of 'sales pitch' to make their sale.

The most popoular one being, "What's the capital of Madagascar? If you don't know the answer, you have to buy from me." And one little girl actually told us to just buy something from her so that she will go away and leave us alone to enjoy our drinks in peace!

In the end, we bought a total of 6 fridge magnets and 3 bracelets from 3 different kids, and bought another 2 kids lunch. They are really a good bunch and eke-ing out an honest living, just like the rest of us.

Steven with the 2 girls who sold him the Fridge Magnets

Me with the girl who sold me the bracelets (which I will be giving to Anita's daughter!)

Steven with the 2 kids whom we bought lunch for

Our Purchases