Exploring the world one bite at a time

Month: January 2018

Singapore Zoo: “Excellent Zoo”

Very beautiful zoo that takes pride in showing the animals in their natural habitat. No cages whatsoever, you get to enjoy the animals up close and personal. I got a chance to encounter a snake. 🙂 The panda’s are an absolute highlight and don’t forget the night safari which is a very special experience.

Information
Singapore Zoo
Mandai Lake Road 80
Mandai
Singapore 729826
Singapore
http://www.zoo.com.sg/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Zoo
https://twitter.com/tweetwrs?lang=en

Visited October 2013. You can find my review about Singapore Zoo also on TripAdvisor.

Heatherlea: “Gorgeous location”

The location of the B&B is absolutely gorgeous with a cute lake nearby and a view to die for. The B&B is set in a rural environment, but is only a five minutes drive from Mallaig, where you can take the ferry to Skye. The room was spacious and clean with a lovely view. Breakfast was ok, the vegetarian sausage wasn’t that great, but vegetarian sausages rarely are. The host was very friendly. I can imagine that the rooms will be cold in winter though, but extra heating is provided.

Heatherlea, Glasnacardoch, Mallaig PH41 4RH, Scotland

Stayed June 2013. You can find my review about Heatherlea also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, location 5/5, sleep quality 4/5, rooms 4/5, cleanliness 4/5, service 5/5.

Dunheanish Guest House: “A lovely stay in a wonderful place”

Dunheanish Guest House has it all: friendly hosts (with a lovely sense of humour), excellent breakfast, clean and spacious rooms and a view to die for. We absolutely enjoyed our stay here and wouldn’t think about staying anywhere else if we return to Oban. Be prepared to climb some steps though when coming from the harbour. But we didn’t mind the exercise.

Sadly there wasn’t room for us in the rooms facing the bay of Oban, but we could sit outside on the terrace while watching the sunset.

Information
Dunheanish Guest House
Ardconnel Road
Oban
Argyll PA34 5DW
Scotland
+44(0) 1631 566556
info@dunheanish.com
https://www.dunheanish.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dunheanish-Guest-House/144466766273753

Stayed June 2013. You can find my review about Dunheanish Guest House also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 5/5, location 5/5, sleep quality 4/5, rooms 4/5, cleanliness 5/5, service 5/5.

Cathedrale de St-Pierre: “Beautiful”

You should definitely visit the separate chapel, very beautiful. In the cathedral you can see the chair of Calvin which is very small. I enjoyed the view from the towers of the cathedral. It is a climb, but worth the effort.

Information
Saint-Pierre Cathedral
Place du Bourg-de-Four 24
CH-1204 Genève
Switzerland
http://www.saintpierre-geneve.ch/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Pierre_Cathedral

Visited November 2012. You can find my review about Cathedrale de St-Pierre also on TripAdvisor.

The Japanese onsen experience

If you’re looking for Japan traveling tips, please read my previous article.

In this article I would like to talk about Japanese hot springs. When visiting Japan soaking in the naturally heated water of an onsen really is a must. I hardly can think of anything that is more relaxing after a day filled with activities.

When my boyfriend and I went on a bike tour through the beautiful landscapes of Hokkaido, we stayed in lots of traditional ryokans, which all had an onsen. Although we weren’t exactly experienced bike riders, we never once had a muscle ache. Up till this day I am still convinced that the steaming hot bath we took every evening helped prevent any pain. And sure, the water of some onsen is considered to be good for your health.

Be warned though, most onsen are separated by gender and in rural areas you’ll find some people staring at you, strange foreigner. It happened to me more than one time that I had one half of the bath to myself, while the rest of the Japanese women preferred sitting as far away from me as possible. Actually I didn’t mind. More room for me! 😉

One very important rule to remember when visiting an onsen: it is considered very (VERY) rude to enter the hot bath without washing yourself thoroughly beforehand. Most of the bathing facilities offer shower gel and shampoos, but you can, of course, bring your own. The washing is done on a little stool and make sure to wash of any remaining soap, so that you can enter the communal bath squeaky clean.

More on onsen etiquette:

Some absolutely beautiful onsen to visit:

Batu Caves: “Situated 13 km outside of KL”

Beautiful natural caves with an impressive gold colored statue. The hindou temple inside the cave wasn’t that special, but the location definitely is, with the wild monkey’s roaming the stairs looking for foods to steal from tourist. You also should visit the dark cave. We took a 45 minute tour in the dark cave and got an excellent explanation about all the creatures living there.

Information
Batu Caves
Gombak
68100 Batu Caves
Selangor
Malaysia
+603 – 6189 6284
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Caves
http://www.malaysia.travel/en/my/places/states-of-malaysia/selangor/batu-caves

Visited October 2013. You can find my review about Batu Caves also on TripAdvisor.