Simply Me :-) : September 2016

Living in Singapore for 3 years, I postponed visiting Pulau Ubin till the eleventh hour, mostly because I heard it is best covered by cycling. Leaving Singapore for good in April 2016, I decided to go to Pulau Ubin and cover it on foot. Pulau Ubin is a small island situated in Singapore. While Singapore is highly urbanised , Pulau Ubin represents early Singapore, with village styled houses, in short the other extreme of what Singapore today is. Though it does not appear in the main attractions of Singapore , a day trip to Pulau Ubin will give you a chance to see another face of Singapore. As I did not know to cycle, I covered a part of the island and Chek Jawa wetlands by foot as a day trip. I took ferry/ bumboat from Changi and it was a relaxing peaceful day out for me. I followed the walking trail, though some areas were deserted especially some forest like trails, I did not feel unsafe.

Below are some of the photos I clicked during my day adventure :D. Hope the government will continue to preserve this island and someday I can cover the whole island.

Bumboat fromChangi Jetty to the island

Singapore or Kerala ?

Bamboo gateway that I had to click

Beautiful vegetation

Kampong/ village house

Quarry that had a beautiful blue shade

View of sea from a small observatory at Chek Jawa wetlands

Mangrove forest in the wetlands

Coastal boardwalk at Chek Jawa

In May 2015, I decided to travel one of my dream destinations, Bali. 'Eat Pray Love ' did play a key role in making Bali one of my dream destinations. It turned out to be the four most memorable days of my life. It was sort of a solo adventure. It so reminded me of my hometown in Kerala with a different cultural and spiritual feeling. Travelling some of the remote locations made me question if I had already reached heaven...:D...

I narrowed down my itinerary to cover most of the 'best things to see' in Bali from Google searches after reading through n number of blogs and traveller experiences which mainly focused on the cultural and spiritual part of it (I was not keen on exploring the beaches on my own).

Travelling solo, I felt safe all the time, though I followed the basic safety measures. Thanks to my wonderful tour guide Mr Budha www.mrbudhatours.com and www.balisunrisetours.com I had a great time in Bali.

A day by day account of my journey through Bali.

Day 1 : Flew from Singapore to Bali by Jetstar. An early morning flight that landed in Bali at 7 am. A smooth booking of taxi at the taxi counter and within minutes I was on my way to my hotel in Ubud. I stayed at Swan Inn , Ubud a budget stay with small cottage like rooms (gives a feel of a homestay in a village) with friendly owners and walking distance from the main street of Ubud.

Day 1 itinerary : check in at hotel-Ubud town exploration by walk-Campuhan ridge walk-Ubud market-Monkey forest.

Lovely atmosphere outside my room

Campuhan ridge walk

Relaxed at one of the rest centers with awesome view

Almost two hours walk through beautiful landscape, rice fields, traditional balinese houses.Tour can be done on your own, preferably early morning/ evening.