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Ahoy Czechia!
I stayed in the Ibis Hotel during the first few nights in Prague but decided to extend my stay, hoping to do an extra day trip to a town called Karlovy Vary. I was interested to see the place featured in the movie Last Holiday where the actress Queen Latifah’s character Georgia decided to spend her remaining days on Earth. This was after being mistakenly diagnosed with having a rare brain condition and only having a few weeks left to live. She decided to spend her last funds on a luxury holiday in the Grandhotel Pupp to meet her favourite famous celebrity chef Didier. However, unlike Georgia, my ending was…
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The Greatest Traveler
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta, better known as Ibn Battuta, was born in Tangier, Morocco in 1304. He is a Muslim Berber Moroccan scholar, writer, geographer, at times a Qadi or judge and best known as an explorer and traveller. Ibn Battuta is considered as the World’s Greatest Traveler in History. He was twenty years of age when he left his home town in Morocco in 1325, to go on a Hajj, or a pilgrimage to Mecca to fulfill the Fifth Pillar of Islam. He finally returned home from travelling in 1354. According to some scholars, during his twenty-nine years of traveling, he was able to widely traverse a distance…
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Moscow, Russia
Moscow is the capital and the largest city of the Russian Federation. It is the seat of the government, as well as the political, scientific, historical, architectural, and business centre of the country. It displays the country’s contrasts at their most extreme. Its distinguishable symbols of great and terrible past, as well as ancient and modern architecture, are visible side by side. Today, imposing Soviet buildings, the Seven Sisters, or Stalinist skyscrapers representing Stalin’s empire and other impressive architectures spread all over in this intimidating city. You may love or hate Moscow. You may probably be visiting monumental and palatial areas at one point. Then all of a sudden, you…
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Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow, Russia
One of the things I did during my visit to Moscow was to visit the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics. With the help of my Russian roommate – Julia, I was able to organize my visit. Travelling by train from the Red Square area via Kitay-gorod to VDNKh station, I conveniently reached the museum after approximately thirteen minutes. VDNKh is the closest station to the complex, should you wish to travel by train. Services depart every ten minutes and it operates every day. Monument to the Conquerors of Space – Russia The Monument to the Conquerors of Space is a stunning 110-metre-high titanium spire erected in Moscow in 1964. It soars…
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Veni, Vidi, Venice!
The Merchant of Venice, The Tourist, The Italian Job and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, these are just some of the movies filmed in Venice. I was so excited to finally visit Venice from my few days’ stay in Florence following the footsteps of Robert Langdon in Dan Brown’s novel, Inferno. Luckily, I arrived in the morning at Santa Lucia Station which is just five minute walk to my hotel. After having my breakfast at a coffee shop next door, I hastily went to Piazza San Marco or St Mark’s Square, as if I was thrilled to witness a Carnival in Venice. Venice is the birthplace of the famous…
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“Ordinary People”
Let me share with you the lyrics of a song “Ordinary People” by Danniebelle Hall which I think is fitting to the story of Suen Douh Camp. I posted an article about my visit to this place on my previous blog how the gift of a girl, her offering of a One Dollar become instrumental to the realization of a huge project such as a Christian orphanage in Hong Kong. This significant establishment was made possible through the aspiration of Pastor John Bechtel who did his best in order to make his mission and vision possible. I hope this reminds us to focus and thankful on what we have, no…
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Suen Douh Camp Hong Kong
I mentioned on my previous blog that one of the things that inspired me the most to go back to Hong Kong was to visit a place called Suen Douh Camp. It was an estate that was purchased for $1 that was donated by a 14-year-old girl. The property is located in Fan Ling, New Territories, east of Hong Kong. I heard about this incredible story from several Christian messages on YouTube particularly by Michael Ramsden (the International Director of RZIM and one of the founders of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics (OCCA), England. There are various articles in print and online about this story, for this blog I…
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Plunged Into Earth’s Lowest Point: The Dead Sea
The Lowest Point on Earth (430.5 Metres Below Sea Level) After Mount Nebo and Bethany beyond the Jordan, we headed to our next and final destination for the day: the Dead Sea. It is around fifteen minutes’ drive from the baptism site. The Jordan side of the Dead Sea has higher mountains, providing spectacular panoramic views of the Dead Sea; thus, numerous beach resorts and international hotels lined up. Our tour guide took us for lunch in one of the best restaurants in the area, and then we spent the entire afternoon relaxing and watching the curious tourists take their turn at covering their bodies with mud and then dipping…
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Amman Citadel
The Amman Citadel is a historic site that sits on the highest hill at the centre of downtown Amman in Jordan. It is the site of ancient Rabbath-Ammon that occupied the site since the Bronze Age. Archaeologists have excavated numerous artifacts that prove that the area has been inhabited by different peoples of different cultures; therefore, it is considered important because of its long history of occupation by many great civilisations. It is surrounded by a long wall, which has been rebuilt many times but remarkably still serves its purpose even to this day. The small archaeological museum on the hill features and exhibits some items that date…
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A TASTE OF THE BIG APPLE – NEW YORK
“Start spreading the news I am leaving today I want to be a part of it. New York, New York…” This timeless song “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra kept ringing in my head while on the train from my chosen hostel in Central Park area. It was the beginning of my American exploration that started in New York. The very first thing I did was to go to Times Square which is the heart of the city to collect The New York Pass that I purchased days before my flight from Dubai. I decided to collect it at the Big Bus Information Desk at Madame Tussauds and had…
