Singapore Zoo - Ranked one of the best in the world!

Rated as one of the best zoo in the world, Singapore have got to be proud of themselves even when bigger countries in Asia can’t maintain such a spectacular world class zoo which carries great amount of healthy natural world not only wild animals but also tropical plant life.

Singapore Zoo followed the modern trend of displaying animals in naturalistic environment, open zoo concept with hidden barriers, behind moats and so on.

Asian Elephants performing at the show "Elephants at play and work" which is held twice daily.

Animals at the Australian Outback...

Lake Toba - North Sumatera, Indonesia

Lake Toba (Danau Toba) is the largest volcanic lake in the world and the largest lake in South East Asia is in North Sumatera, Indonesia. It’s spectacularly surrounded by tall mountains and with a large island called Samosir in the middle of the lake. If we descend from the mountain we see the lake glittering in all its beauty. This lake is way bigger than Singapore measuring 1707 sq kms.

You can get to Lake Toba from Medan by car or bus which takes about 5 to 6 hours depending on the traffic and weather conditions. There are two routes to Lake Toba which are via Permatang Siantar and Berastagi. The nearest airport to reach this destination is Polonia Airport in Medan as well.  

Lake Toba formed in a volcanic eruption around 75,000 years ago and was the largest in 25 million years. The volcanic blast was so large it deposited ash up to 15 cm all over India and up to 9 meters in Malaysia. Most of the plant and animal life across Asia was wiped out in that explosion.

 

Lake Toba is a quiet place to relax with it serene environment pleasing us all the time while we are there. There is a small market area called tuk tuk where you can buy some souvenirs and t-shirts and that’s where the ferry drops off passengers coming in from the main land ferry terminal called Parapat. It’s an hour ferry ride to get into Samosir Island from Parapat.

Few Batak villages are up for visits such as Ambarita and Tomok, the guide briefed us about the Batak tradition and history which involved cannibalism long time ago. Most of these Batak tribes are now Christians. It was pleasant to idle lazy in this peaceful island as a break from a hectic city life…

Alleppey/Alappuzha - Backwaters of Kerala

Alleppey/Alappuzha district in Kerala, Southern India is incredibly well-known as “Venice of the East” for its lengthy canals which are well connected to many other parts of Kerala, vast lagoons and lakes, also not forgetting to mention about the lush greenery on the both sides of the waterways, let it be paddy fields or coconut plantation on the both sides of the canals, it will never fail to impress us with its splendid countryside view of the gods own country.

Alleppey/Alappuzha is just 70Kms from Cochin (nearest airport), a main hub of Kerala other than Thiruvananthapuram & Kozhikode. A car ride will take approximately an hour and a quarter from Cochin to Alleppey. Train and bus rides frequent to Alleppey from Cochin. Tourist taxis will be the best option for foreign travelers as it will be uncomplicated to travel from one place to another hassle free.

Alleppey/Alappuzha has great weather which is not too hot even during summer, maybe since this district is in close proximity to the ocean. Best time to visit will be between mid August till mid March.

The backwater of Kerala is one of the main attractions in India. Best voyage in the backwaters either starts in Alleppey or Kumarakom compared against few other spots in Kerala. The Houseboats “Kettuvallam” are famous mainly among honeymooners. You can hire the houseboats ranging from ½ a day to few days which include meals on board. There are houseboats which even has 3 rooms in it for a big family. The houseboats are well furnished. 2 tier boats are also available for big groups. There are also small boats which takes you a few hours voyage through the lazing canals. You can get good bargains when you book directly with the houseboat operators rather than depending on touts.

From the boat you can observe the everyday village life of people, stop for a drink & snacks, watch birds, and enjoy this relaxing journey through canals, lakes and lagoons. It is nice to go towards Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala, where rice farming is done below sea level. This unique experience in the backwaters of Kerala will be something remembered for a lifetime!  

Dark Caves, Malaysia- An Adventure Tour

Caving also known as spelunking is all about exploring caves and its environment. The challenges involves in the activity depend on the cave being visited, but often include the climbing, crawling, squeezing through small holes, pitching and sliding.

Dark Caves which is located in Batu Caves is located about 15Kms from Kuala Lumpur city, Malaysia. Among the majestic four million years old limestone ranges in Batu Caves, lies this nature’s most astonishing wonders. Rises 300 feet from ground, the Dark Caves seem both magnificent and enthralling. Made up of a 2 km leading passage and five chambers, the Dark Cave forms one of nature’s most fragile and distinctive eco-systems in Malaysia.  Stalactites extending from the cave’s ceiling and stalagmites raising out from the floor forms a unique and intricate formations such as cave curtains, flow stones, cave pearls and scallops which have taken thousands of years to gradually form and also not stop thinking about the breathtaking gaur pool formations as well.

It was a 3 hour educational and adventure journey for a group of 11 of us to explore this extraordinary cave’s atmosphere and learn more on phenomenal efforts by nature itself. Currently dark caves is being managed by Cave Management Group Sdn Bhd. Prior booking is required and only guided tour is available for the adventure tour. MrDon (mobile number: +6012-2873797/ email: donhaider@cave-management.com). A tour charge depends on count of persons for the trip and differs for locals and foreigners. Age 13 and above should fit this adventure well.

Our tour started at 10am with a short briefing by the guide. The torch light/head light is a necessity in this cave, and we switched them on and proceeded further eagerly into the cave. The first half of the tour was more educational on the formation of the caves. Explanations were given on how the stalactites, stalagmites, the flowstones, straws and gaur pool was formed as we walked pass these amazing wonders, and also we took interest to know on the fauna of the tropical caves which forms the cave’s food chain and also some of them were only found in Dark Caves and not anywhere else in the world.

Past about one quarter hour of sheer good cave ecology, we went on to do some crawling, squeezing, some rope climbing and sliding, which is part and puzzle of cavers/spelunkers. We managed it soundly and as well enjoyed it thoroughly.

After the best hours of cave adventure, we were out wet and weary. It was wonderful to do this in a medium sized group but I think we had not enough of it, we are planning to another wonderful limestone caves soon!