Friday, September 27, 2013

New Itineraries for 2014

EXOTIC TOUR DEPARTURES 2014

14D Sikkim & Bhutan Festival Photography Tour 

Dep every Mon, by SilkAir/SQ
Special Departure -
03Mar (Punakha Festival),
22Sep (Thimphu Festival)

Darjeeling, Gangtok, Punakha, Thimphu, Paro, Wangduephodrang, Kolkata

Special dep - 11D Sikkim & Bhutan
27Sep - 07Oct 11D Sikkim & Bhutan Thimphu Festival


01-05May Khao Lak Laguna Resort
SPECIAL  - only usd39  (TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY)
Hurry, BOOK BEFORE the .
Email me olevia@gmail.com
Sorry !! This is fully booked.

11-18May Flores & Komodo Photography Tour (Postponed to Sep)
Highlights - Kelimutu Coloured Lakes (Kelimutu National Park)
Go hunting for the Komodo dragons..

12-25May Munich, Austria & Czech Republic
Highlights -
Munich city tour, BMW Museum visit,
Vienna - Schonbrunn Palace, Evening Viennese concert,
Salzburg - hometown of Mozart, funicular ride for panoramic view of city,
Hallstatt - UNESCO site, beautiful village, oldest salt mine in the world
Prague - Golden City, Walking Tour in Old Town, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle
Karlovy Vary Spa Town
Cesky Krumlov - Old medieval Town, UNESCO

04-19Jun Explore Peru
Machu Picchu - one of 7 New wonders of the World,
Pisac
Colca Canyon
Lake Titicaca

06-20Jun South Africa Adventure Safari  (CONFIRMED DEP - last 4 vacancies)
New Dep - 13Jun, 20Jun
ST Lucia (UNESCO), Panorama Route, Blyde River Canyon, Kruger National Park,
Pakamisa Game Reserve, Shark Cage Diving, Wine Tasting
$5800 (all inclusive, full board, Emirates flight)
***

On the Panorama Route in Mpumalanga, with its breathtaking vistas around every mountain corner, waterfalls plunging down faces of sheer rock, memories of the gold rush following you as you meander down an endless river canyon, and eagles hovering above your head – you can't help walking with your head in the clouds.

Did you know?

The Blyde River Canyon's lush subtropical foliage makes it the world's largest 'green canyon'.

One breathtaking view after another – that's South Africa's famous Panorama Route, where you'll experience mountains, sky, forests and the truly impressive Blyde River Canyon, one of the world's largest canyons.

JUL - Maldives

07-16Aug Migration Photography Trip to Kenya


04-13Sep May Flores & Komodo Island
Highlights - Kelimutu Coloured Lakes (Kelimutu National Park)
Go hunting for the Komodo dragons..

27Sep - 07Oct 11D Skkim & Bhutan Thimphu Festival Tour
$4,288


01-09Nov 9D China JiuZaiGou discovery
Famed Fairy Tale Land, with shimmering lakes, crystal clear waters, numerous waterfalls...

13-20Nov 8D Myanmar Photography Tour

SPECIAL AIRFARE ! Hotel Rates Worldwide

CLICK the LINK Below & Register as Preferred Customer.

Price Pledge - 150% Price Difference Refund

2015 - GEORGIA, CHINA - Jiu Zai Gou in Autumn
2016 - Trekking to Kyrgyzstan
2017 - Kilimanjaro
2018 - Bhutan Snowman Trek (TOUGEST TREK in THE WORLD)
 *** Bhutan Blog



Palace on Wheels (INDIA)
Dep on every Tue by SQ.

So, remember to come back for more updates.

Olevia Cheong
EMAIL me - olevia@gmail.com


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Blog Mt Rinjani Trek Day 1

Mt Rinjani Trek Day 1

Pictures of the trail as we embark on our adventure to the summit of Mt Rinjani (3,726m), the second highest mountain in Indonesia.

Join me for the next adventure to
Khao Lao Phuket  -
28Apr - 07May
Cheapest Airfare to Phuket (Airport code - HKT)

Pictures of Mt Rinjani Trek
4D3N Trek
08-11Sep 2013
Group of 6 including my 8-year-old boy.

The day had arrived. We had been doing our training at Bukit Timah Hill (Singapore-our only little hill) every Saturday to prepare for our ascent up to Mt Rinjani. I had been out of all physical exercises for the past two years with the boy, and all the other work commitments. Excuse!! Haha. When I set my mind to do this trek, I knew I had to start, and this gave me inspiration, and motivation to PUSH myself to really get back to training.

After all, I was very fit before. Had completed the marathon, a few aerobics marathon, including a 5 -hour aerobics marathon before. Trekking is not new to me. I had gone trekking in Nepal (3 times), and even up Mt Kinabalu, which most people had done.

But, I knew, I had to push up my level of fitness, as I read that it is a tough climb. And how tough, we were only get to know when we started on our trekking.

We stayed one night at Senaru Village upon our arrival in Lombok International Airport. (LOP)
Porters preparing our supplies to be brought up to the mountain.


Stove, tents, sleeping bags, food, fruits, mineral water, etc .. need to be carried up by the porters.

He is so lovely..



He loves to be photographed.


                    Finally, they sat still as Hui Jun showed them pictures of themselves taken earlier.


Our Homestay for one night.




                                 I love the banana pancake! Never get tired of it for breakfast.

A group photo, and you could see my boy is rather tall for a 8-year-old boy.


                                                                        Banana Trees


                                               This is flat, but this is yet the beginning..



A very gentle slope.

My friend, Fernnie is coming on her very first trek.
Her other experience is the 3-hour trek up to Taktsang Monastery, in Bhutan.


Lots of greenery abound.

Helping to plant a tree in Mt Rinjani National Park.

      Our Lunch Point. The trek upwards after lunch is tough, with going up three steep hills,                  almost                        seventy five degree gradient.



                     Watering the plant. The tree would likely be taller than him in 10 years time.
                                            Another group photo before we continue on.
                                           Here comes the porters who caught up with us.




More photos to be added.

Be back.

Flights to Lombok.
From Singapore, there are direct flight to Lombok on SilkAir/Singapore Air.
Check SINLOP.

Cheap Lombok Flights/ Hotels
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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

TOP 10 Things To Do in Gili Islands

Lombok?

While many people have not heard of this tropical island, located just next to Bali, but if they were told of its location next to Bali, then they will soon realise, this is a GEM on its own. This is another of the island that belongs to Indonesia, but it is more laid back, and not so touristy and commercialised like Bali.When I did a search for the hotels in Bali, and then compared to the number of hotels found in Lombok, I soon realise that there are only one tenth of the number of hotels in Bali for Lombok. There are more than 2000 hotels in the database of the search engine, and there are only more than 200 hotels in Lombok.

                                Beautiful Lake Segara Anak , Mt Rinjani National Park. Lombok


One of the top adventure to do in Lombok is to trek up Mt Rinjani, the second highest mountain in Indonesia. It is a very tough climb, as the final ascent up to the summit involves going up the scree slope full of sand, tiny gravels, little stones, and make every one step a chore. Every two steps that you take, you will likely to slide a step down. So, this takes up a lot of energy from the trekker. And even just before you could reach the summit, there is this final uphill slope that is covered with rocks, and much bigger rocks. Every step requires a lot of your strength to push your foot off, and yet stepping on all these rocks that you could not avoid by all means.

Well, if you go to Lombok, I would suggest that you make a trip to the nearby Gili Islands located off the northern coast of Lombok. The Gili Islands are famous worldwide for its excellent location for diving and snorkelling.

Stay three to five days if you could afford the time. And I will share with you what you could do on this little island.

The group of Gili Islands are made up of three islands - namely, Trawangan, Meno, and Air. Trawangan is the largest of the three and Air is the smallest of the three. These islands are now car - free. So, you either walk around by foot, or travel by the horse-drawn carriage.

When I was there during the last weekend, I found almost 8 Dive Shops along the main street that is facing the beach front. WOW!! This is not my first time in Gili Trawangan. I had been there twice before but that was long time ago, and back in the mid 1990s.

The beach was empty those days and now, it was filled with many restaurants, bars, and cafes lining the street. I could not recognise this place anymore. With twenty years of development, many boutique hotels, and resorts have sprung up all on the right side of the street as you walk down this main street after you make your left turn from the harbour.

TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN GILI TRAWANGAN
1. Diving
2. Snorkelling
3. Surfing
4. Yoga
5. Take Up FreeDiving Course
6. Learn Cooking
7. Top Dining Experiences
8. Cycling
9. Spa
10. Take a helicopter tour to Bali


DIVING
There are a number of Dive Schools here.
                                                              www.bluemarlindive.com


                                                             www.dreamdivers.com


                                                                     Buddha Dive

SURFING
 

                                                                         YOGA

There are daily classes at the Yoga Garden.



                             Learn to Freedive. How deep can you go with one Single Breath?


                                                                     Learn Cooking.

DINING
Don't miss out on the seafood.
The Beach House Resort Restaurant


                                         

                                      Great Ambience, lovely sea view, and fresh seafood.
 
Scallywags Restaurant
Organic Food, and No taxes here.
 
                      EAT AT THE NIGHT MARKET. LOCAL FOOD, and many CHOICES.
                                                               Pay no tax here.





                                                                        CYCLING


                                                                             SPA
                                                     Try out the full body scrub here.


                                               TAKE A HELICOPTER TOUR TO BALI



Well, for the Singaporeans, we are really spoilt for choice. We have many flights flying to all these nearby little islands from Singapore, and we even have a few choices when it comes to the airlines. With the addition of the budget carriers  - Tiger Airways, Jet Star, Air Asia, we just have so many of such flights taking off from the sunny Singapore island. It is not expensive to fly there especially if you book your tickets in advance. However, with one experience of flying with Jet Star, I realise there are a number of restrictions and hassle when you choose to fly such budget carriers.

Please find below the fare of the sectors, and all these are about the cheapest fares (round up) that you could get if you book in advance.

Singapore - Bali (DPS) , $300 (including taxes)
Singapore - Lombok (LOP), $400 (including taxes)
Singapore - Phuket (HKT), $300 (including taxes)
Singapore - Kalibo (KLO)  Boracay Island, Philippines ,


SIGN up as  a PREFERRED CUSTOMER below.
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150% Refund of the Price Difference if you find a cheaper airfare on another website.
Guaranteed Best Hotel Rates in Gili Trawangan / Bali / Lombok & Worldwide