Spending Time in Singapore

So, to conclude my series of posts about spending time outside of the United States, I thought it was only fitting to finish with my home of seven years, the wonderful island of Singapore. Singapore was previously known as Temasek or "sea town" and, between the 16th and early 19th centuries, it was ruled by the Sultanate of Johor. In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, arrived and signed a treaty to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post. In 1824, the entire island became part of the British East India Company. Many Chinese and Indian immigrants settled down in the area, coming to the city to work in the many rubber plantations.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew
the 1st Prime Minister of Singapore

During WWII, the Japanese army invated Malaysia, and the British were defeated in Singapore. The Japanese occupied Singapore until the British reposessed it in 1945. Singapore declared independence from Britain to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 and, it was only in 1965 when the country gained independence as the Republic of Singapore in 1965. Lee Kuan Yew was dubbed the prime minister and, everyone present in Singapore on the date of independence was offered citizenship. In 1990, Go Chok Tong succeeded Lee as prime minister and, in 2004, Lee Hsien Loong becaume the 3rd prime minister.

If you like hot and humid climates, Singapore is the place to be. The weather rarely drops below 85 degrees, and, while there are thunderstorms that come out of nowhere, they only ever last for half an hour at the longest. And, while Singapore is mostly known as a port from which people visit other countries, it has a few attractions that it can brag about. 

some of the orchids at the Singapore
Botanical Gardens



Singapore's Night Safari



 

The White Tigers at the Singapore

National Zoo Exhibit

 

When visiting Singapore, twosites that you absolutely cannot miss (which, conveniently, are located in the same area) are the Zoo and the  Night Safari. Singapore's zoo is unique in that, instead of having cages, the animals are placed in exhibits that are surrounded by deep gorges. These exhibits are constructed to appear similar to the environment that the animals are normally found in. The Night Safari, is one of the world's first. Visitors can walk around similar animal exhibits in the night, and observe nocturnal animals, as well as other animals, in the night. There are multiple walking routes and, I recommend that, if you actually end up going, you take each of them. Singapore's botanical gardens are also definitely worth checking out, especially because of the large variety of orchids that one can find!



The Night Safari's tram, passing by grazing tapirs





Singapore is a melting pot for different cultures. The country itself has five main languages: Malay, Bahasa, English, Mandarin, and Tamil. And, each of these cultures are equally represented. Furthermore, because Singapore is also known as a major trading post in Southeast Asia, other European cultures are also prent. And, because so many cultures are present in Singapore, variety in regards to foods is immense. My personal favorite, is a dish called Laksa. Laksa is a spicy seafood curry, served with noodles and every type of seafood imaginable (with the exception of lobster). Although, I should warn you non-spicy food eaters that, this dish is not for people with weak palates.

Laksa, a local Malay dish, topped with chicken and tofu

Singapore is a hub for diversity and, if you don't have time to visit all of South East Asia, you should definitely stop by here because it really has it all. And, a nice perk is, because it's so small it doesn't take very long to really see the whole city/country.

Gallivanting in Germany and Austria Part 2

Welcome back, to Travel Jeanne! This week, I'm going to continue talking about Germany and Austria, and, again mention some of what I think are the three more of the must-see sites in the two countries. 

 

 

A statue of Mozart at one of the
many music halls that commemorates
him

 To begin, one of the places that you absolutely go is Salzburg, Austria. Full of older architecture and history, the city is best known for two things: being Mozart's birth place and being the place where the Sound of Music was filmed. Salzburg's old town is known for its baroque architecture and, because it is one of the best preserved city centers north of the Alps, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. Salzburg is the fourth largest cities in Austria. 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born here and The Sound of Music was also filmed here in 1964. If you do visit Salzburg, I would highly recommend visiting the "Old Town" and also to go listen to one of the many orchestras that visit the town to play in honor of Mozart.



A picture of one of the fountains in the "Old Town."
(For you Sound of Music fanatics out there, you might

recognize this particular fountain when Maria is leaving

 the abbey. )



The gazebo featured in The Sound of Music.

 It was  transported from its original location

 because of the number of people who visited it

yearly.



One of the places definitely worth visiting is Vienna. And because Vienna is such a large city, I'll narrow it down to one particular attraction: Schonbrunn Palace. The palace is a former imperial Rococo summer residence in the city. Both the palace and the gardens demonstrate the tastes and interests of the Hapsburg Monarchs. The palace was completed and continually renovated by Empress Maria Theresa.



An image of the Old Town Hall,
where coronations used to take place



A third destination definitely worth visiting would be both the Old Town Square and the New Town Square in Munich, Germany. The Old Town Hall serves as the building for the city council in Munich and bounds the central square, Marienplatz on its east side. One of the main buildings in the New Town Hall, more commonly known as the Marienplatz houses the Rathaus Glockenspiel. The Glockenspiel chimes every day at 11 am (as well as 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. in summer. It chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century and, in my opinion is quite a piece of art. The first story is that of a marriage and the second is that of the "Cooper's Dance".



A scene from the Glockenspiel

So there you have it folks, three more sites in Germany and Austria definitely worth seeing! Hope you enjoyed this week's post!



Gallivanting in Germany and Austria - Part 1

My family and I made our way around Germany and Austria with a tour group - Trafalgar Tours. And, in less than two weeks, we were able to visit the biggest major cities and biggest cities in the two countries. We whirled around the two countries, stopping by in Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg and a couplre other main cities - making time, of course to stop by Neuschwanstein Castle and the Black Forest. But, because there is so much that we did in time that we were there, I will be dividing the post into two sections: the first will focus on the time spent in Germany and the second will revolve primarily around Austria and its major attractions.

To begin, lets discuss a bit about Germany's history. Germany was first identified as a distinct region by Julius Caesar, who referred to the territory as Germania, distinguising it from Gaul - later known as France. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the Franks conquered the other West Germanic tribes. When the territory was finally considered independent of the Frankish Empire, in 962, Otto I became the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the medieval German state.

Germany was considered to be part of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) until the HRE's collapse in 1648, where Germany was divided into numerous independent states. Germany was eventually unified under Otto von Bismarck in 1871. The German Revolution of 1918 ended the monarchy in Germany, and eventually lead to the establishment of the Weirmar Republic. Less than 20 years later, Germany was taken over by Hitler and Nazi Germany's aggressive foreign policy took control of Austria and parts of  Czechoslovakia and Poland. Folowing WWII, the country  was divided into West Germany and East Germany. It was finally united in 1990.

After that ton of history, its time to start discussing those major landmarks and cities in the country. To keep it short, I'm going to talk about what I thought were the top three most memorable must-see attractions in Germany.

Number One: Neuschwanstein Castle
While this particular castle doesn't have as much historical significance as many of the other palaces in the country, it is definitely one of the more picturesque ones. The palace was built on a hill near Fussen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. It was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a homage to the playwright, Richard Wagner.The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the king, but was opened to the public immediately after his death. Since then over 60 million people have visited the castle. For those readers more familiar with Disney classics, the palace was the inspiration for Disneyland's castle.

Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany

Number Two: The Black Forest

Black Forest Cake, sprayed
with Cherry kirsch, a special
liquor

This forest is a wooded mountain range in southwestern Germany, and is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The forest got its name because of the thick growth of conifers in the forest blocking out most of the light in the forest. It was also used as the setting for Hansel and Gretel. Other than travelling in the forest, one of the highlights was travelling to one of the many clock/woodwork shops in the general vicinity, and trying the famous Black Forest cake (which, for the record, was absolutely delicious!)

One of the clocks at a woodwork shop in the Black Forest.
When the hour strikes, various pieces of the clock move.

Number 3: The Berlin Wall

Of course one of the most visited sites in Germany, the wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The wall completely cut off West Berlin fron East Germany, as well as from East Berlin. While much of the wall, now, is gone, the grafitti and artwork left on the wall were definitely worth looking at and, like many of the tourists there, we we able to buy and take home a very small piece of the wall.

Passing through the Philippines

Hello there, and welcome back to Travel Genie!

My class of third and fourth graders
in the local elementary school in
Maravilla, Cebu

It's spring time in State College and the month March in particular makes me think back to the annual Interim Trips that my high school participated in. Each year, students were fortunate enough to travel to a foreign country for between one and two weeks, to site-see, participate in language immersion, or become involved in a community service trip. One of my favorites, the one that I will be writing about this week, was a community service trip that I went on with nineteen other classmates to Cebu, Philippines.The purpose of the trip was to teach English to elementary and high-school students, as well as to pass out care-packages of clothes and medicine to the families of our students. And, because the purpose of this trip was significantly different from those of the trips I previously described, this post's format will also be different from previous ones - the biggest difference being that, there won't be any major Filipino landmarks discussed. 

Cebu is a province in the Philippines, that consists of Cebu Island and about 167 surrounding islands. Its capital city is Cebu City, the oldest city in the Philippines. It was colonized by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and, eventually, became the first European settlement established by Cortes in the Philippines. It finally achieved independence from colonial rule in 1946, and is now one of the most densely populated islands in the Philippines.

My third-grade class in Maravilla,Cebu

The part of the island that I visited, is a small town called Maravilla. The town partnered with my school in Singapore, under a student-run organization called Wish for Kids. Through Wish for Kids, the local elementary and high schools have been able to receive books and other classroom materials to enhance the learning of its students, providing them with a way to continue to university and, hopefully, a higher-paying job. My trip consisted of daily visits to the elementary school and, along with a fellow student, I prepared lesson plans to teach basic English to the grade levels assigned to me - grades 3 and 4. We were also able to teach English to high-school classes for a day.

Playing with the Kids after a Long Day of School

While we were there, we were fortunate to witness a local festival, the Sandagat Festival, which commemorates the arrival of Magellan and, with his coming, the introduction of Catholicism, the main language of the region. 

Decorations for the
 Sandagat Festival



The final part of the Sandagat celebration, in which a decorated boat with
an effigy of Magellan, as well as effigies of the Virgin Mary and
Jesus are danced around.





Some of the older women heralding in the decorated boat



The trip itself was extremely fulfilling, and gave us an opportunity to thoroughly enjoy the Filipino culture, as well as form bonds with the students there. Even though there are no extensive historical sites, no fancy five-star resorts, and no top-notch restaurants in Maravilla, Cebu in the Philippines, it still definitely makes my list of top destinations and I strongly recommend visiting. The people are friendly and, when visiting you truly have an opportunity to make a difference.

Stopping by South Africa - Part 2

Welcome back to Travel Jeanne! We're back again to continue Part 2 of Stopping by South Africa. This post is mostly going to consist of information about Kruger National Part, the other place that my family visited in South Africa. Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa.  It covers approximately 18,485 square kilometers. To the west and south of Kruger National Park are two South African provinces, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. To the north and the east of the park are Zimbabwe and Mozambique respectively. The park is now linked with Gonarezhou National Park in ZZimbabwe, and Limpopo National Park in Mozambeque. It is an area protected by UNESCO.

One of the spectacular sunrises, taken from the front door of our lodge.

The park was the result of an effort by Paul Kruger, the president of the Transvaal Republic to create a Government Wildlife Park in 1898. It was then named Sabi Game Reserve and, finally, in 1926, was named Kruger National Park. The park was originally created to control hunting and protect the diminished number of animals in the area. It gained its popularity because it was part of the "Round in Nine" tour.

The range-rover that week took around the park

When my family and I visited the park, it was, quite literally, the first time my sister and I woke up on our own at 4:30 in the morning. We stayed at Mohtlabetsi, a private lodge located in Balule Nature Reserve in the Greater Kruger National Park. Every morning, after enjoying a quick breakfast, we were loaded in a Range Rover, and watched the sunrise driving through the national park. Now, the most important animals in the park are included in a grouping known as the Big Five. They refer as the animals that were once most difficult to hunt on foot. They include, the lion, the African elephant, the cape buffalo, the leopard, and the rhinoceros. My family and I were lucky enough to spot every one of them except for the elusive leopard.

A lioness and her three-month-old cubss. According to our
tracker, this was a rare occurence, as a mother lionesses
generally hide cubs at this age.

If you are an animal lover who enjoys nature at its peak, especially the spectacular sunrises and sunsets, I would strongly recommend visiting the park. Furthermore, I would also recommend staying at Mohtlabetsi. The staff are exceptional and the owners of the private lodge make you feel like part of the family. With dinners around the fire, a comfortable bed, and the sound of crickets and hyenas lulling you to sleep, there really is no other lodge like it.

Stopping by South Africa - Part 1

Going through the photos on my computer, I found it difficult to choose one destination over another to blog about this week. I finally settled on what has to be my all-time favorite vacation: my trip to South Africa. Part one of this blog is going to be focused primarily on our time in Cape Town.



Hout Bay, one of the bays known for its exceptional harbor,

as well as for multiple neighborhoods of different economic levels,
all encompassed within a very small region.



As always, I’m going to begin by discussing the history of Cape Town – a city that, in my opinion felt like a cross between Sydney, Australia and San Francisco. The area was not mentioned in written history until about 1488 when it was mentioned by the Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias. Another famous explorer, Vasco de Gama briefly mentioned it as well, when searching for a route from Europe to Asia. The area was previously occupied by indigenous people, but was settled by Dutch settlers in 1652. It stayed under Dutch control until the British invaded the territory in the late 1700s and from that point onward, the territory shifted between British and Dutch control until South Africa’s independence. During South Africa’s infamous apartheid era, large portions of the city were deemed to be “white-only territories”, with a large portion of the black African population being forced to move north into more under-developed territories.



The plaque at the Cape of Good Hope,
marking the Southernmost point of the
African Continent



What really sets Cape Town apart, especially as a popular destination for tourists it’s impressive array of natural attractions. The city is surrounded by a variety of bays and, my favorite attraction, picturesque red sandstone cliffs meeting deep blue water. My family and I made our way to the Cape of Good Hope – the southern-most point on the African continent –, took a boat ride out to Duiker Island to enjoy watching the seals inhabiting the island, and made our way to the Twelve Apostles – conveniently named due to the fact that there were twelve sandstone cliffs lined up along the coast.



Biltong - or cow's tongue  -one

of South Africa's delicacies, the tongue

is dried, salted, sliced, and served as an

appetizer





The seals of Duiker Island





 








One of South Africa's many bays



The View from Our Hotel window out over
Cape Town

Stay tuned ‘til next time, with part two of the South African blog, discussing my favorite part of the trip, our adventures in Kruger National Park!



Traipsing in Thailand

Sa-wat-dee ka! Since it's close to smack dab in between winter holidays and spring break, I thought it was only fitting to talk about one of my favorite destinations for both vacations: Thailand. And, when I say Thailand, I'm talking more specifically about a city with, in my opinion, the best beaches around: Phuket.

To start off my post, as always, I'm going to open with some historical information about the city itself. Phuket is Thailand's largest island, connected to the mainland by two bridges. It is located in the Andaman Sea.  As with many Southeast Asian island-cities, Phuket was situated on one of the major trading routes between India and China. It was also mentioned several times in the ship logs of traders from Portugal, France, and England. In addition to trade, Phuket was known for its rich tin and rubber production.



The Tuk-Tuk, the Thai version of a taxi



Phuket, Thailand is now known for its exceptional beaches, and breathtaking sunsets, and is a popular vacation destination for expatriates living in Southeast Asia, as well as Europeans hoping to escape cold winter weather. There are several beaches that are frequently visited. One of the most well-known ones is Patong Beach, prized because of easy access to a wide and long beach. Most of the city’s nightlife is in Patong, as is the large strip of shops that sell knock-off merchandise. Each part of the island has something different to offer. For example, the restaurant On the Rock, a very popular Thai gourmet restaurant, is located on a cliff overlooking a different beach, Karon Beach. For the adventurous, I would definitely recommend visiting this restaurant. And, to add to the experience, I would strongly recommend taking the Tuk-Tuk, the local "taxi" if you will.



Horizon Karon - a hotel that I would definitely

 recommend, especially if you are looking for a

 reasonably priced hotel close to the shore,

but with a reasonable amount of privacy





Just a snapshot of one of Phuket's many beautiful sunsets,

taken at Kata Beach.



Other beaches that are well known for their soft sand and slightly more private settings are Karon Beach, Kata Beach, and Kata Noi beach. In addition to the mainland beaches, there are several islands offshore, especially the Phi Phi Islands to the south east, that provide tourists with snorkeling and scuba diving opportunities.

A view of the Phi Phi Islands - coral
islands where tourists can come and
snorkel

 

 



If you ever find yourself in Southeast Asia, I would strongly recommend a visit to Phuket. There is a variety of food, from the traditional Thai cuisine to Buffalo Bill's wings. The people are extremely hospitable and friendly. And, when in Phuket, you shouldn't leave without visiting the coral islands offshore. My only word of warning is to look carefully for packages to the islands. Many vistors are trapped with the hotel deals which can sometimes be double the price of equally good packages downtown.

Hopefully this post was useful in sharing a bit about Phuket, Thailand.

Thanks for reading and until next time!