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Salzburg “The Sound of Music” Tour Experience
“The hills are alive with the sound of music . . .” Salzburg is where the movie The Sound of Music was filmed. It may have been released in 1965, almost a decade before I was born but I must admit that I have seen this film several times. It stars the adorable Maria (Julie Andrews), with the Von Trapp family; the father played by Christopher Plummer. When I decided to travel to Austria and naturally Salzburg I made sure to pre-book The Sound of Music tour. I simply had to watch this classic film all over again. Luckily,…
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A wishful thinking?
Still a wishful thinking? Not anymore. I was, for a time, a Psychology student at Silliman University in Dumaguete City. One of the revered names in the field is of course the Father of Psychoanalysis himself, Dr. Sigmund Freud. Studying Psychoanalysis is one of the major prerequisites of the course, as well as to study the life of its founder and proponent. To realise a long-held dream, I visited the Sigmund Freud Museum at Berggasse 19, in the Alsergrund District of Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1971 and covered Sigmund Freud’s life story. Standing outside the building, I was probably like a neurotic trying to suppress my extreme excitement;…
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My Coffee Table Book
One day I got a call from one of the representatives of a publishing company in Singapore. By the tone of her voice I could tell that she was excited while telling me that my book entitled INSPIRED TO TRAVEL; TRAVEL TO INSPIRE – A TRAVEL MEMOIR has just been published and is now available online via Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble websites. I found out later that actually, to be exact, it was made available online on the 1st July 2019. After that conversation; I felt restless. I could hardly contain myself. I was so eager to receive and see for myself my very own copies of the book…
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Burj Al Arab: Living up to its promise
It was in the year 2000 when I first set foot in United Arab Emirates and since then Dubai has been my second home. As any resident from that time could attest, Dubai has had a huge and wonderful transformation especially when it comes to its architecture and infrastructure. One of the most iconic buildings is the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, or “Tower of the Arabs”. It is a luxury hotel which stands on an artificial island. For several years I was just one of those admiring its unique beauty from a distance and wishing someday that I could visit and see its exquisite interior up close and personal rather than…
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A visit to the Land “Down Under”
Australia is one of the countries that I longed to someday visit and see for myself. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I had to decide the best point of entry knowing its massive land area. I thought that there was no better way to start my exploration than at its largest city – Sydney. From Dubai, it took 14 hours flight to reach Sydney. It was an exhausting flight which meant that as soon as I reached the accommodation I had to rest the whole night to recharge myself and make sure that I would be fully fit to start my exploits for the following day. There were so…
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Arts & Entertainment, Culture, Discover, Explore, Fashion, Food, Nature, Religion, Sightseeing, Travel
Indulge in Turkish Delight
It was a freezing December when I set foot in Turkey. Istanbul is the country’s largest city, the financial, cultural, and historical centre. It is the only city in the world located between two continents: Asia and Europe. Istanbul is a fascinating city that houses various compelling attractions. Luckily, most of the sites are in close proximity to the hotel where I stayed. Many well-known sites such as the Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Sultan Ahmet Mosque, which is popularly known as the Blue Mosque, are amongst the most visited. One of the activities not to be missed when in Istanbul is a boat ride and I…
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A moment with the selfie king
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands: One of the joys of travelling is to be able to see up close and personal the works of famous people who are well known in their respective chosen fields. If I remember it well, it was during my high school days that I learnt and came across the names of some famous Dutch artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt. Another one is Johannes Vermeer, the artist who painted the Girl with a Pearl Earring. In the world of drawing and painting, undoubtedly one of the well-known artists is Vincent Willem van Gogh. Many of his works are on display in Van…
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A visit to Vienna Austria
Is it true that there are no kangaroos in Austria? One night when I was walking in one of the busy shopping streets called Kärntner Straße in Vienna, I was a bit surprised to see the signs ‘No kangaroos in Austria’. This phrase caught my attention. For a while I was confused why these signs are everywhere especially in the souvenir shops. Then I realized and I remember what our tour guide said that this is to remind the tourists that they are actually in Central Europe, in a landlocked country called Austria, and not in Australia. I had a wonderful time during my visit to this land of the…
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Sightseeing day in Brussels
During my first odyssey to Europe, I chose Belgium as one of the countries to visit. I stayed in the country’s capital city – Brussels. Although it is relatively small when it comes to land area, it is of great power and significance in world affairs. Brussels is a cosmopolitan city that hosts several of the EU’s official seats and is the headquarters of many major international organizations such as NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and WCO (World Customs Organization), among others. Plus, it is also the birthplace of one of my personal favourite actresses, Audrey Hepburn, who starred in films such as Roman Holiday, My Fair Lady, and Breakfast…
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Travel with me
Travelling has been one of my immense dreams. After visiting to more than thirty countries it has inclined me to write this book in a plain, simple way I wish to share the feeling, smell, sights, and sound that I personally encountered, as well as the weird and wonderful things I experienced during my travels that apparently according to IBN Battuta, a Moroccan Muslim traveller and scholar who said that ‘Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.’ For a period, I hesitated to push through writing my texts, thinking who would believe me in the first place other than myself and perhaps some of my…
