I took the 3pm Limousine van (S$21.90) from Hanoi and reached Sapa at about 8pm. I booked a hotel that is rated 5 Star from Agoda. This is a small family owned hotel that has 5 Star hospitality but no facilities.

I met up with the natives and took some of them for dinner instead of buying the souvenirs they were trying to sell me. I also bought biscuits for those children cruising around the amphitheater.

I saw a child sitting along the street. People passed by and gave him food and money. I gave the boy a bar of wafer biscuit. I was anxious to know what was happening and stand at a side to observe. A woman came from the other side of the road with a young girl, and took the boy with her. I am not sure was it her son!

The Sun Plaza is the great spot for tourists to take pictures. The lake is just a few minutes walk away from the city area

The Market Place is about 20 minutes walk from the Sun Plaza. It is at the top end of the lake. I discovered that there is a nigh market in front of the market building when I was on my way back to Hanoi. Maybe I should visit it in my next trip.

The Cat Cat Village is about 30 minutes walk from the Sun Plaza. The entrance fee is S$8 and I think this is a bit expensive. Motorists will approach you for a ride to the village but I think this is not necessary as you could see more by foot. This is a nice place and worth the visit. Remember to get sweet and biscuits for the children in the village.

Moanasapa is discovered by accident when I followed a group of tour walking towards to villages. The entrance is S$4.27 and comes with a botte of water. Although there are many man-made attractions for you to take pictures, the general appearance of the natural environment could easily take your breath away. I had to stop to admire the scenery. There is also a cafe or you to sit down and relax.

The cable car station is inside the Bell Plaza. The ticket to the Sunworld Fansipan Legend is S$52.26. The first cable car that will take you to the Sunworld garden for photo taking.

The 2nd cable car will take you up to the Fansipan cable car station. Upon arrival, you can either take the mountain train or continue to walk up the steps to the summit, which is 3,143m above sea level. It is very cold up in the mountain. Remember to bring along a jacket, umbrella, rain coat and even gloves.

Amsterdam is the capital and the most populated city of the Netherlands. The train station is just right in the central of the city. While I was there, I could see there were more bicycles and boats than cars.

You could see performances along the roads and in cafes.

Amsterdam is a city of water and almost every household has a boat for recreational and work.

You could also join in the free walking tour.

You could leave the sex museum and torture museum out of your itinerary as they are not interactive.

I would recommend a night visit to the red light district as this is an eye-opener for many of us.

I think the visit to the Van Gogh museum is most fruitful. I could see the original Sunflower and other familiar paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and learned more about the artist.

The tourist information center is next the train station.

If you have the time, you could take the sightseeing boat trip and cruise along the canals.

The buildings here are beautiful.

There are 5 Royal Palaces in Seoul. The entrance for each palace is 3,000 won but if you are wearing the traditional Korean Hanbok, you can enter the palace for free. There is the change of guard ceremony at 10 am and 2pm at the entrance of the Gyeongbokgung Gate. This should be in your definitely must watch list. I found out that these people are not real guards. They are employed by the tourist board to entertain the tourists.

We had the TeamBuilding event in the Universal Studio Singapore, Sentosa. We were gave the doscounted entrance tickets and meal vouchers. We had to queue for the rides, shows and even for foods as the place is packed with people from all over the worls, the theme park did not close just for us. This is a long, hot, tiring, exciting and enjoying day.

My solo backpacking trip to Australia was full of excitements. I visited Perth, Adelaide, Tasmania, Melbourne, Canberra, Newcastle and Sydney.

I flew with SIA and arrived in Perth. I took the Indian Pacific Train to get across the desert from Perth to Adelaide. I was thinking of taking the ferry from Adelaide to Tasmania but after some considerations, I ended up taking Tiger Airways.

During the trip, I even went to visit the smaller cities like Cook Town, Kalgoorlie, Fremantle, Glenelg and St Kilda. I asked the locals for accommodation and when I misbehaved and got chased out of the house, I went to stay in the backpacker.

One morning when I woke up from the couch, I found a dog was sleeping next to me for the whole night. I went to the nude beach and realized that I was the only person wearing clothes. I attended a night party in a farm on top of the mountain.

I naturally fall in love with Sydney Habour without a second thought when I saw her. I was just unable to resist the beauty.

I walked from the city of Melbourne to the St Kilda beach. It was the day of the Pride Parade. An eye opener for me.

During the trip, I saw an amazing scene of a family of 4 well-behaved kangaroos waited patiently by the side of the road for the vehicle to pass by than they started to hop across the road. I almost got cheated near Chinatown and I finally witnessed the Australian Day on 26 January.

Though Canberra and Newcastle are a bit boring, I managed to entertain myself by trying to take interesting pictures. I was glad that I have visited Tasmania as both Hobart and Launceston are worth the trip.

Brisbane and Gold Coast were just just a 5 days of stopping over when I came back from New Zealand in another trip.

The Sales Talk

The best cup cake

Lunch sponsored by the D, DD, AD, EM and SM

The afternoon baking session in Paragon

We baked Chocolate Salted Caramel Cup Cake