Shortly after our Taiwan holiday we went for another family trip. This time however to an already familiar place: Ubud, Bali.
We spent a few relaxing days with my sister-in-law and her partner in a beautiful villa situated in a lush green environment, only a few minutes from the centre, from where we went to explore the whereabouts of the Monkey Forest, the rice paddies as well as the temples at Gunung Kawi and Tirta Empul.

It has been a while since we did our last road trip and I was very much looking forward to this holiday. And it delivered and has been special on more than one level.

i) Our very first road trip with our baby; who at 7 months is our little world explorer

ii) Spring time! We have not been disappointed. The weather was just nice, ranging from a warm and sunny 25 degrees in Taichung and Chiayi to rather chilly and partially foggy weather at 1700m above sea level in the picturesque Alishan region

iii) Back to a Chinese speaking country and back to practice our basics. This was our second trip to Taiwan and I am still amazed as how friendly, warm and open-hearted the Taiwanese are. They are also particularly baby friendly and make traveling with a little one a breeze.

Upon arrival we got our rental car at the airport and made our way south to Taichung, where we only stayed overnight before we headed further to Chiayi, a small and very likeable town at the foot of the Alishan mountain area. Chiayi has a small but cozy night market which we all had fun exploring. Our little one was fascinated by all the different smells, sights and noises and loved to try the delicious snacks.

We drove further up the numerous bends and arrived in Fenqihu where we stayed in a very nice bed and breakfast with a breathtaking view. Which we did good to enjoy as long as it lasted before the oncoming fog enveloped everything! Despite the weather it was particularly lovely to spend time outdoors and breathing fresh air.

From the mountains we headed back north to Sun Moon Lake. This is a very touristy spot which however has its own charme if you bother to scratch the surface. There we spent a wonderful and relaxing few days, crisscrossing the lake on a boat, going for long walks and taking the cable car to the Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village (which I can highly recommend as a very nice outing for old and young!).

After a week we dreaded that it was already time to head back to the airport. We made the best of it and enjoyed one last stop at Daxi, famous for its Old Street where we got our last fill of delicious snacks, beautiful buildings, temples and the welcoming people of Taiwan. We left with the promise to be back again!

We coordinated our timing to reach at low tide which allowed us to walk the numerous trails and boardwalks, to discover the mangrove forests and get close to the life in the muddy waters.

The Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is Singapore’s first ASEAN Heritage Park and has been labelled as a nature park since 1993. It is an ecological jewel and home (or temporary home) to many animals.

Migratory birds come from as far north as Russia and make it their home from September to March. Native animals such as mudskippers, crabs, mud worms, monitor lizards, birds or dragonflies can be seen year round. We heard that it is also the habitat of some estuarine (saltwater) crocodiles but were not lucky enough to spot one. Maybe next time!

After a lazy Sunday morning, we opted for some afternoon activity and made a trip to nearby Pulau Ubin. Here are some colourful impressions from our bicycle trip.

I spent the weekdays in Zurich and Geneva and while out for lunch with a few colleagues – including a colleague from Hong Kong who visited Switzerland for the first time – I half-jokingly suggested that we should take the opportunity and eat a cheese fondue. To our all surprise, my Asian colleague agreed at once and so we were set to order a platter of meat, a fondue and a bottle of wine. Despite the hot temperatures and us sitting outside and in office attire, it was very enjoyable.

The following days still included a fair bit of eating, but also some more action. We engaged in an activity-filled and fun treasure hunt through the city of Berne, we visited friends and our goddaughter (who recently started to walk and kept us busy playing) and I spent a shopping day with my sister. Finally, my partner and I settled for a few days in Malbun where we opted for a hike to Galinakopf (one of many peaks in Liechtenstein I have not climbed before even though hiking was a regular activity during my childhood). I really enjoyed to be out and active in the fresh mountain air, along the way marvelling at the beautiful alpine flowers and on the top being rewarded with an amazing view over the mountains.

We also spent time together with both our families and did some Liechtenstein sightseeing. On our last day, we met with friends for a nice walk, followed by a delicious dinner and one or two bottles of wine. It was a fun and relaxing evening, a perfect end to this trip.

I very much enjoyed the days!

The Green Corridor is a stretch of greenery along the former rail tracks which have been removed shortly after the train service across Singapore has stopped in 2011. By now, four years later, it has developed into a habitat for wildlife and a picturesque recreational area for runners and bikers.

During the run I got a first impression of the beautiful nature and discovered some interesting sights, well worth further exploring. That’s why I headed back this weekend for a second encounter. This time I followed the trail in the opposite direction, at a much slower pace and with my camera.

The Bukit Timah Rail Station is accessible and is the only part which still showcases a short stretch of railway tracks. The Tanjong Pagar Rail Station and the surrounding railway yard, which comprises staff quarters and a signal station, is however fenced off. Maybe this is on purpose to encourage me to participate again in next year’s race …

For unknown reasons, the place has been left abandoned sometimes in the 1950s. In the 60 years since, Mother Nature has taken over and the mansion now lies hidden in the jungle.

As I love such discoveries, I got friends and camera ready and we went on the search of this hidden and abandoned place. What we found is eerily beautiful and lets one imagine its former glory!

We visited historic-rich Taipei (and nearby Tamsui), roamed the streets and monuments and filled our stomach with delicious snacks from the night markets. On the search of nature and landscapes, we then took the train to Hualien and continued by rental car heading south along the East Rift Valley and back up north along the Coastal highway.

Our days were filled with such wonderful holiday activities as
– visiting an abandoned sugar factory and buying ice cream from the souvenir shop,
– hiking the Walami trail (which includes the crossing of two impressive suspension bridges) and practising our Chinese with a Taiwanese family we met a the picnic pit,
– getting cold while being outdoor most of the day and then soaking our bodies in a natural hot spring to warm up
– driving the winding roads in the Taroko Gorge and up on Sixty Stone Mountain (liushidanshan), marvelling at these nature’s wonders and playing catch with the sunrays

At the end of our week in Taiwan, there was still so much unseen and undone… we are left with no choice but to come back!