Travelogue

Why you should consider Khao Kho for your next weekend getaway

Why you should consider Khao Kho for your next weekend getaway

Thailand has always been one of Singaporeans’ top travel destinations. Whether it’s the city shopping, delicious food or island life, we love this amazing country. But how many of you have ventured off the beaten path beyond Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi, etc? We recently got back from Khao Khao, and here’s why you should consider Khao Kho for your next holiday!

1. Cool weather throughout the year 

Can you tell that the wind was super strong?

If you’re finding the heat and humidity unbearable in Singapore, you will love it here in Khao Khao. Not many people know that this quaint little city is actually a mountainous region in Thailand! We always knew Thailand for their pristine beaches, but this place made us see this country in a totally different light. The hottest that it probably can get is only 30 degrees and even then, the humidity is almost nil. 

Best time to go Khao Kho: Sept-Dec when it’s dry and cool. Rainy season starts from April to Sept. 

Funny thing was that we happened to be there in August, when it was too windy! We’ve honestly never experienced winds as strong as this before! But it seemed like it was only that week that the wind was so strong. 

Tip: Bring a waterproof windbreaker if you’re traveling during the rainy season!

2. Relaxing and void of tourists 

If you’re sick and tired of being bombarded by hordes of tourists, go to Khao Kho. We were practically the only foreigners in this city! 

Tip: Travel to Khao Kho during the weekdays to avoid the domestic tourists during the weekends!

3. Lots of instagrammable places for gram-worthy photos

Wat Phasornkaew – This temple’s definitely a must visit!

At Phu Kaew Peak view point. Can you tell that we were in a bird nest?!

At a local cafe where they had this super cute cat!

If you love taking photos for the gram, check out Khao Kho. The locals love taking photos and it’s no wonder that this city is full of beautiful instagrammable places! 

4. Affordable luxurious resorts for you to chill at 

We were invited to stay at De Capoc Resort and really had a very good time there! First up, the room is gorgeous. We stayed in the deluxe room and what we liked about it was that it’s super spacious! And there’s a nice balcony for you to chill at too! 

Before you go wow-ing at our room, just have a look at the villa – it’s breathtakingly beautiful! There’s even a “hammock” in the balcony where you could just lie there, watch the sunset and feel the breeze grazing your skin! We also liked how there was like a physical tree within the room! Talk abt being right there in nature. 

Bonus: The food here is AMAZING! Which was a really good thing cos the resorts in Khao Khao are kinda isolated, you’ll need to drive out to the main street to get food if you want to. Or, you can just dine here at the resort! Pricing is pretty reasonable too! Maybe ard SGD5 for a plate of local dish, or SGD12 for the pizza. Ps. the pizza is really goooood! Try it!

Read here for a more in-depth review of De Capoc Resort if you’re still considering if you should stay here!

5.There’s still shopping and street food if that’s what you’re after 

One of the highlights of coming to Thailand is the shopping and local street food! The only night market available is in Lamsat, a 30-45mins drive away from Khao Kho. Although this market cannot be compared to the night markets in Bangkok, you’ll still find the usual street food stalls and shops selling all sorts of random things from electronic stuff to clothes and even exotic animals! 

Tip: Lamsat Night Market only opens every Sat night from 7pm onwards!

6. Plenty of great hiking options 

At Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park – where the landscape was just so unique and queer!

Being a mountainous area, you’ll find yourself spoilt for choice for hiking routes! There are several national parks here in Khao Kho, and different routes available for beginners to advanced hikers! Unfortunately due to a lack of time as well as the weather not being on our side, we only did a short hike at Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park which we were glad we did. 

When we were at the start of the hike, it was super foggy with a slight drizzle! We contemplated for quite some time if we should go ahead with the hike. Eventually we decided to just go for it and try our luck, hoping that the fog will eventually clear up and thankfully it did! The terrain was definitely suitable for beginner hikers, and the entire hike only took us around 90mins. We loved that the terrain was so unique, with the little bumps that reminded us of a loaf of buns!

Have you been to Khao Kho before? Would you recommend others to visit this place? 

[REVIEW] Top 5 reasons why you should stay at De Capoc in Khao Kho

[REVIEW] Top 5 reasons why you should stay at De Capoc in Khao Kho

Recently we were invited to stay at De Capoc Resort and had a really good and relaxing time there! If you’re still searching for a resort to stay at in Khao Kho, here’s why you should seriously consider staying at De Capoc resort!

1. Spacious rooms with amazing views

We stayed in the deluxe room and what we liked about it was that it’s super spacious! And there’s a nice balcony for you to chill at too! The architecture was very modern, clean and cozy!

Before you go wow-ing at our room, just have a look at the villa – it’s breathtakingly beautiful! There’s even a “hammock” in the balcony where you could just lie there, watch the sunset and feel the breeze grazing your skin! We also liked how there was like a physical tree within the room! Talk abt being right there in nature. 

2. Authentic and super good local food!

Honestly speaking, this reason alone can be a good enough reason to stay here! Both dinner & breakfast were great! For dinner, we had the De Capoc pizza (thin crust, highly recommended!), chicken wings, tom yum soup (omg this was too good!!) and the pork vermicelli salad! Sadly we were too full for desserts! Pricing is pretty reasonable too! Maybe ard SGD5 for a plate of local dish, and SGD12 for the pizza.

Breakfast spread was sumptuous too! We really loved their fried rice which was soooo tasty and the pork porridge! 

Tip: If you prefer dining outside of the resort, you can ask the staff to give you a lift to the main street (abt 5mins drive) where they have some local restaurants there. There’s 7-11 at the main street too! (We LOVE 7-11 in Thailand!)

3. Gorgeous outdoor infinity pool for a relaxing swim

The pool’s really beautiful and makes it such a good photo spot too! Would have loved to swim in it but the wind was too strong when we were there! But nonetheless, we had a good time posing for photos at the pool! 

4. Excellent top notch service

Us with Tong, the owner of the resort. Very friendly and helpful chap! 🙂

The staff at De Capoc were really friendly and helpful! You just need to tell them what you need, and they’ll try their best to help you if they can! Just like for example if you need to get to 7-11, they’ll offer a free ride to the main street for you to buy your stuff!

5. Great location – best of both worlds

The attractions of Khao Kho are mostly split into 2 sections, north & south. North attractions include places like Phu Tab Boek, Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park, Wat Phasornkaew. South will be Khao Kho view point, Sri Dit Waterfall, and the war museum. And De Capoc is located right in the middle between the north and south attractions. 

Have you stayed at De Capoc before? Would you recommend it? Do share your experience with us in the comments below!

Exploring the Hidden Gems of Northern Thailand – Sop Pong, Chiang Mai

Exploring the Hidden Gems of Northern Thailand – Sop Pong, Chiang Mai

Thailand has been one of the top tourist destinations for the longest time ever, but most people usually only visit the central or southern part of Thailand – Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi, etc. But not many people have ventured out to the northern part of Thailand. Here’s why you should check out northern Thailand next!

1. You get to trek alongside elephants at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai!

Imagine trekking side by side with these friendly giants, feeding them their favourite bananas and watermelon. Getting to understand these animals better and to support the organisation that rescues and rehabilitate the elephants that have been ill-treated! This alone should be a good enough reason to visit northern Thailand!! It was for us 😀 Read our full review of the Pamper a Pachyderm Tour at Elephant Nature Park.

2. Visit Thailand’s largest and most beautiful cave – Tham Nam Lod

One of the most famous and easily accessible caves in Sop Pong. It was only a 5-10 minutes walk from the lodge where we stayed at! Due to lack of time, we didn’t go for a tour inside the cave. So instead, we headed to the exit of the cave during sunset, where we knew 300,000 swifts will be flying out. Our first thought was that wow, this cave was massive! And there were so many fishes in the water!

3. Get your adrenaline fix at the caving adventure tour in Sop Pong.

There are more than 200 over limestone caves in Sop Pong and we knew we had to check out this place since we were huge fans of caving adventure tours! What we really liked about the caves in Sop Pong was how raw the caves felt, with no boardwalks, fancy light installation or whatsoever. Just us, and nature. It was darn pretty amazing. A must go for all adventurous enthusiasts!! Read our full review on the caving adventure tour in Soppong!

4. Sate your taste buds with delicious Khao Soi, a signature dish of Chiang Mai

This dish tastes a little like curry noodles. it comes with flat yellow noodles soaked in coconut based gravy topped off with some crispy noodles, lime and onions! It was DELISH! We tried it at the row of food stalls at the northern gate of the old quarters in Chiang Mai city. There were a few stalls selling this dish there.

5. You can’t miss out on visiting temples when you’re in Chiang Mai

At the Wat Chedi Luang of Chiang Mai

To be honest, the main reason why we came to Wat Chedi Luang was because we read that it was the easiest to go for the monk chat here. Apparently in Chiang Mai (not so sure about other parts of Thailand), monk chat is a popular and legit program among the tourists! It’s quite an interesting program where the monks get to practise their spoken English with you, while you get to ask your burning questions about buddhism and the way of a monk’s life.

Some questions that Gina asked:

Gina: Are you happy?
Monk: I’m not happy, and not sad. We are not supposed to feel any attachment to our feelings

Gina: Do monks ever get angry? (Cos i’ve never come across one)
Monk: We do, but we learn to catch up with our feelings and to manage it.

Gina: How do monks spend their weekend? Do you get to take part in entertainment activities like watching a movie, playing sports, go shopping, etc?
Monk: We study during the weekend, and meditate. We are not allowed to take part in any entertainment activities.

Gina chatting with a monk at Wat Chedi Luang.

Sadly, Doi Suthep was honestly a little underwhelming for us. We read that it was a must go in Chiang Mai, but when we got there, we expected the temple to be larger. Perhaps because we compared it to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar, which looked similar to Doi Suthep but bigger and more impressive.

At the famous Doi Suthep of Chiang Mai.

The view at Doi Suthep was supposed to be really good, but we were there when it was most polluted. So maybe you’ll have better luck when you’re there!

Have you been to Northern Thailand before? Which other areas should we visit there?! Share with us your recommendations in the comments below!

Elephant Nature Park Chiang Mai – Which Tour Should You Pick

Elephant Nature Park Chiang Mai – Which Tour Should You Pick

One of the main reasons why we wanted to visit Chiang Mai, was because of the Elephant Nature Park. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Chiang Mai! Highly recommended! Read on to see which tour to choose at the Elephant Nature Park!

Gina having a moment with Happy, the 71 year old elephant.

First up, which elephant sanctuary to visit?!

It was a tough decision, considering that there are soooo many different elephant sanctuaries in Thailand! But after doing our research, we finally decided on Elephant Nature Park (ENP) in Chiang Mai.

We went with ENP as they were one of the most reputable and legit sanctuaries in Thailand. They might be more expensive, but at least we know our money is being used for a good cause. Definitely no regrets. At the park, we saw with our own eyes how the elephants were very well taken care of, the vast space for them to freely roam about. Each elephant even has a dedicated mahout to take care of him for the rest of his life! It takes a long time to bond with the elephant and to gain his trust.

Also please guys, don’t even think about riding an elephant again. There are so many articles out there about this. TLDR, cruel and painful methods are being used to break an elephant’s spirit to get him to comply to their commands. The elephants definitely don’t deserve this and we certainly will never ever support such organisations. So pls, do your proper research before going to an unethical organisation!

At the beautiful and tranquil Elephant Nature Park

Next, which tour to choose at the Elephant Nature Park?

We thought the hardest decision was made already when we finally chose ENP. But then we realised that we still had to choose the tour! And it didn’t help that all the tours sounded so good and kinda similar! You can either choose to pay to just visit the park (2,500 baht) or to go on a special tour (6,000 baht). There are 11 special tours in northern Chiangmai to choose from.

Why we chose “Pamper a Pachyderm” tour

We knew that we wanted to spend quality time with the elephants and to have closer contact with them. So we started looking at the different special tours and realised that we can’t find much info or reviews about the different tours. But here’s why we chose Pamper a Pachyderm tour!

1. Children below 12 year old were not allowed on this tour. Don’t get me wrong, we love children. But it’s just that when it comes to a tour like that, we prefer if there were no young kids making too much noise, or too much running around, as all these actions will startle the animal.

2. You get to trek alongside these friendly giants, and to get really up-close with them!

3.  After the tour, you still get to go back for a tour around the park to meet the other elephants! Our tour guide, Preecha, was really experienced and patient in sharing with us stories of all the different elephants at the park!

4. Intimate group size – there were only 5 of us and 2 elephants!

What happens during the Pamper a Pachyderm tour at Elephant Nature Park

ENP will arrange for pick up from our hostel to the park directly (unless you stay too far away from city centre). The drive took around 1.5h but you will be kept entertained throughout as there’ll be a documentary & a safety briefing for you to watch during the ride.

Once you reach the park, you will head straight to the kitchen to prepare food for the elephants! One thing we’ve learnt is that elephants eat a lot and they don’t stop eating! According to our guide, elephants only stay full for 5 minutes. Once they poop, they are ready to eat again.

Chopping up fruits for the elephants!

Then we will get to practise feeding the elephants behind a safety barrier first, to get use to being close with the elephants. We had to finish the whole basket of food that we prepared for them earlier.

Gina feeding a wet and slobbery Sa-ad.

Once the basket was empty, we proceeded to start the trek! The trek was a really easy and manageable trek! It was mostly flat, with only a short uphill to our lunch place. See the sling bag that Gina was carrying in the photo below, that bag was full of bananas! As we trekked with the elephants, we also get to bribe them with some sweet banana 😀 As our guide said, no food no friends. The same goes for most animals I guess. haha.

Gina trekking side by side with Happy!

There was a short river crossing but because it was the dry season, the water was up to our ankles only.

Tip: Wear sandals/rubber shoes if you can so that we don’t have to remove your shoes like us when crossing the river.

After trekking for about an hour or so, we let the elephants rest at a mud pool where they happily splashed mud all over themselves, while we head off for our lunch!

Fun fact: Elephants love spraying themselves with mud as it acts as a form of sunscreen, and helps keep them cool!

Beautiful view of the park from our lunch place!

Lunch was amazing! It was a vegetarian buffet spread that was prepared for us at the top of a hill, overlooking the serene park.

After lunch, we began trekking back towards the park, and stopped at the river again where we bathed the elephants. Buckets were provided for us to splash the elephants with water.

Fun fact: Elephants only lie down when they bathe when the water is deep enough for them to float. If the water is shallow, they usually prefer to stand up to bathe!

Besides Pamper a Pachyderm which other tour to choose at the Elephant Nature Park?

According to our guide, Preecha, the Sunshine for Elephants is his ultimate favourite tour! He has done before all 26 tours at the ENP and he still prefers Sunshine for Elephants! (Damn, if only we knew this earlier!). He said that everything was perfect for this tour, the trail was amazing, the views were breathtaking, the elephants were really friendly. So yes, if there’s one tour that you should take, you should consider the Sunshine for Elephants. Unfortunately we can’t speak for that as we only experienced the Pamper a Pachyderm. We wished we had more time! We would definitely had gone for both tours if we could!

So that’s it from us! How about you? Have you been to ENP before? If yes which tour did you take? Would love to hear about your experience too! Pls share with us in the comments below!

Caving Adventure Tour in Sop Pong, Chiang Mai

Caving Adventure Tour in Sop Pong, Chiang Mai

So first up, where in the world is Sop Pong?! When it comes to Thailand, most people usually travel to Bangkok, Phuket, or the beaches like Koh Samui, Phi Phi Island, and the list goes on. But not many have been to Sop Pong or even heard of this place before! Hopefully after reading our post, all you adrenaline junkies will be inspired to check out Sop Pong next!

Where is Sop Pong?

Sop Pong is located in Northern Thailand, approximately 4-5 hrs drive from Chiang Mai. It’s very near the border of Myanmar, and just 1 stop away from Pai (supposedly a backpackers’ favourite).

How to get to Sop Pong from Chiang Mai?

We bought the bus tickets directly from the Arcade Bus Terminal 2 in Chiang Mai city. Take note that Bus Terminal 2 and 3 are directly opposite each other. Don’t end up at the wrong terminal like we did.

Avia Booking shop at Arcade Bus Terminal 2

Once you enter Bus Terminal 2, walk all the way in till the end until you see this standalone red shop that says Avia Booking. This is the only shop at the terminal that sells tickets to Sop Pong. Or you can choose to book your tickets online instead, which we’ll highly recommend.

Tip: If you can, book your tickets online in advance. 

Albeit having a bus almost every hour, the chance of it being full is very high as the mini van only holds up to 12 passengers!

We took the chance and headed to the bus terminal the same morning that we’re heading to Sop Pong to get tickets. Unfortunately most of the morning buses were full already and we had to take the bus at noon, which means we will only reach Sop Pong at around 5pm. So we kinda wasted one day travelling.

If you’re prone to motion sickness, you definitely need to pop your pills before this ride. The winding road to Sop Pong lasted for 2 hours and was almost unbearable!

Caving in Sop Pong

This was the main reason why we bookmarked Sop Pong on our to go list! We being adrenaline junkies, when we saw that Sop Pong was the king of caving tours, we knew we had to visit this place! There are more than 200 over limestone caves in Sop Pong!

Sunset at Tham Nam Lod Cave

One of the most famous and easily accessible caves in Sop Pong. It was only a 5-10 minutes walk from the lodge where we stayed at! Due to lack of time, we didn’t go for a tour inside the cave. So instead, we headed to the exit of the cave during sunset, where we knew 300,000 swifts will be flying out. Our first thought was that wow, this cave was massive! And there were so many fishes in the water! We really liked how raw the cave felt, with no board walks, fancy light installation or whatsoever. Just us, and nature.

It almost felt like a scene out of a National Geographic documentary when 2 swifts knocked into each other, fell into the water and a huge fish immediately bit one of the swift and refused to let go. The poor bird struggled and flapped its wings frantically for a good 5 minutes, before it was all calm and silent. It was quite a sad scene, especially for a bird lover. But, c’est la vie. It’s a dog eat dog world after all yeah. Moving on.

1 Day Caving Adventure Tour at Tham Nam Hoo

We honestly had such a tough time deciding which caving adventure tour to go for! There were like 8-10 different tours for us to choose from! After much deliberation, we finally decided on Tham Nam Hoo, seeing that it’s the most popular and apparently must-go tour according to the staff.

The tour started off with a 30 min drive, followed by a 45 minutes trek to the entrance of the cave. The trek was a relatively steep downhill all the way (which means we had to climb back up later!).

Finally! At the entrance of Tham Nam Hoo cave

The entrance of the cave was quite narrow, and we had to clamber on all fours to get inside of the cave. That’s the fun part right?

But once we were inside, we were all in awe of the massive and unique looking stalactites and stalagmites! We’ve been to many caves before, but someone this cave’s formation trumps it all?

We’ve never seen stalactites like that before!

Despite it being the driest month of the year, the water level was easily up to our neck! Don’t worry, this cave is closed during the wet season. Also, we were given a backpack with a dry bag inside of it where we could keep our valuables dry and safe!

The water was freezing by the way.

All smiles, but was freezing up inside!

The entire caving tour lasted about 5 hours inside the cave, and we really enjoyed ourselves! We loved the uncertainty of not knowing what to expect next, and of course the climbing around inside of the cave.

Tip: Wear a good pair of lightweight waterproof shoes (preferably high cut) to protect your ankles when you step on loose rocks! And don’t forget to wear thick high cut socks to prevent abrasions from the sides of the shoes!

Wear a good pair of lightweight shoes with proper grip! Best if they’re waterproof too!

We had on our North Face Ambition series Safien shoes, and we were very impressed that the shoes didn’t feel heavy at all despite them being 100% soaked in water! Also the shoes had solid grip which made us feel safe when stepping on the damp rocks in the cave. (Ps. we weren’t paid to say this!)

There was actually an even more epic tour that was supposedly harder and more exciting. We wanted to go for that, but there was a minimum of 5 pax, and the other 2 guests with us didn’t seem keen. If I don’t remember wrongly, it should be Tham Nam Lan. But better to check with the staff there! The owner described this tour as the most epic tour.

Where we stayed in Sop Pong

Cave Lodge 

Our private room at Cave Lodge

There weren’t many options for accommodation in Sop Pong. We knew we wanted to go for a caving tour and decided on Cave Lodge since they specialised in organising the caving tours!

It was not bad staying here, the rooms were nice and cozy. They had a restaurant which served pretty good authentic Thai food, slightly pricer (average 60-160 baht) but it was worth it for the convenience. We read that there’s some eateries down the road from Cave Lodge, but we were too lazy to do that.

Cost of staying at Cave Lodge: 850 baht (S$36) per night for a private room.

How to get to Cave Lodge from the bus stop in Sop Pong

Where the bus drops you off at Sop Pong, there’s a mini mart. Just head in and ask the staff there for transport to Cave Lodge. The staff arranged a pick up truck for us at 300 baht 1 way for the 2 of us. Other options include getting a motorbike taxi (70baht). We didn’t see them though, so we went ahead with the pick up truck instead.

Our verdict on Sop Pong – is it a must go?

ABSOLUTELY! We just wished we had more time to spare in Sop Pong as we would have loved to go for a few of their caving adventure tours! Wed didn’t know that there were so many caving adventure tours available! They also have some very good treks to the villages in Sop Pong, which we didn’t go for due to lack of time.

Have you been to Sop Pong before? Or have tried any of the other caving tours before besides the ones we did? Feel free to share your experience with us in the comments below!

Top 3 must-dos in Barcelona (Including a day trip to Monsterrat!)

Top 3 must-dos in Barcelona (Including a day trip to Monsterrat!)

If you’re pressed for time and are only able to spend 2 days in this beautiful city, here are top 3 recommended must-dos in Barcelona!

Immerse yourself in the enchanted luxury Park Güell

Despite not being enthusiastic architecture fans, we still ended really enjoying ourselves and were fully in awe of this breathtaking luxury estate. This place was originally built for the rich living in Barcelona, away from the city centre.

Tip: Buy your tickets in advance as it’s almost always fully booked!

In the photos above, you can see how Gaudi likes using natural rocks of different sizes to design his works. His design is often inspired by nature, animals, water, waves, etc, with lots of curves and odd sized pieces being put together. The left photo above shows how the walkway was inspired by waves where the columns & ceiling were all slanted to one side.

The plan was to build 60 houses in total, but the plan backfired when the rich didn’t feel safe living away from the city centre’s security. In the end there were only 3 houses being built, and 1 of which became Gaudi’s home in his later years. Part of this place was designed by Gaudi, a renowned Spanish architect.

Gina posing with the famous lizard of Park Güell

In the photo above, Gina’s posing with the famous lizard which according to our guide, was supposed to be a charm located right at the main entrance to protect Park Güell. On the contrary, most of the people were still pretty conservative at that point in time and felt that this lizard was a little weird and they didn’t like it.

Get blown away by the unmissable magnificent La Sagrada Familia

The largest church in the world till date that seem to take forever to build. We’ve heard so much about this basilica from news, media, online, and everywhere else. Being able to stand right in front of it was really quite an amazing feeling! This church was designed by Gaudi, and it was his baby all the way till he departed this world. He spent almost all of his life working on this church!

Look at the insane amount of details! 

This church was built using purely donations, and for quite a long time, the funds were insufficient which brought the construction to a standstill. It was only in recent years when tourism really boomed for Barcelona and they started to have more funds for the construction of La Sagrada Familia again! Apparently now they are only left with 3 more years to fully complete this magnificent building! You really need to visit this place in person, photos aren’t adequate to describe how impressive this piece of work is!

Enjoy the picturesque views from the Montserrat Mountain

View from the Montserrat Mountain

We highly recommend taking a day trip the the Montserrat Mountain if you can spare the time. The views were really breathtaking! We were actually very lucky as according to our guide, most of the time it’s foggy! But we had a super clear view of the valley and the mountains!

Inside the basilica of Montserrat

We were really impressed by the interior architecture of the basilica. So beautifully and intricately designed.

View of the monastery from one of the hiking trails

Tip: If you have more time to spare, you can try the hiking trails here at the Montserrat Mountain! The routes are marked clearly and you can’t really get lost. A pity we were pressed for time and didn’t have time to hike. 

So that’s all from us for the must-dos in Barcelona! Do you guys agree with our list of must-dos? Do comment below if you have other recommendations!

Why You Must Make Time For A Day Trip to Segovia

Why You Must Make Time For A Day Trip to Segovia

Segovia was one of our favourite places in Spain. A quaint little city nestled about an hour drive away from Madrid. If you are in Madrid, do make time for a day trip to Segovia!

Enjoy spectacular views of Segovia City

Great view of Segovia city with the Cathedral

The entire city spans over 2km and it takes only about 15-20 minutes walk from the Aqueduct to the Palace. In the photo below, that’s basically how the main street of Segovia looks like. Lots of local small shops, no big names like Zara, H&M, etc. Most of these houses were built a long time ago and its architectural style definitely help gives this place its character and charm.

Main shopping street in Segovia

Impressive Romanian Aqueduct That Withstood Time

Segovia made us feel like we were transported back in time. The iconic landmark of this place is the ancient Roman aqueduct which was built back in 1st century to transport water from the mountain to the city. This has gotta be one of the most impressive Roman architecture in Spain. This structure was built without the use of any cement, and it has stayed intact till now! And because it has not been cemented together, the structure remains flexible during earthquakes.

The aqueduct of Segovia

Cathedral of Segovia

The Segovia Cathedral is one of the last Gothic cathedrals to be built in Spain. Despite not being religious people, we really enjoyed admiring the detailed architectural design of the cathedral.

Posing with the Segovia Cathedral

We really loved the inside of the cathedral, where the facade was adorned with bright shimmering gold, accompanied by intricately curved out biblical figures.

Inside the Cathedral of Segovia

Pictures that tell a million words

Alcázar of Segovia – “Cinderella’s Castle”

Alcázar of Segovia, which literally means fortress of Segovia. Built right next to the river, this was originally a fortress to guard the Segovia city. But it ended up being used as the royal palace, state prison, college, etc.

Fun fact: This castle was actually the inspiration behind the Cinderella’s castle!

Inside of the castle

You will realise that most of their furnitures are portable and can be easily folded. As the royal families usually don’t stay at the same castle for long as their aim is to continue to conquer more places, and hence needing portable furnitures so that they can easily pack up and move anytime.

Savour the absolutely delicious tender traditional Cochinillo Asado!

Definitely one of our highlights of Segovia – being able to taste the absolutely delicious tender Cochinillo Asado, which is also known as the roasted suckling pig! It’s amazing how they are able to cook it to such perfection! With delicate crispy skin on the outside, and tender meat inside. Definitely a must try if you’re in Segovia!

Super delicious Cochinillo Asado – Roasted Suckling Pig

Tip: We ate the Cochinillo Asado at Mesón De Cándido (right at the entrance of Segovia near the Aqueduct). 

Have you been to Segovia before? Did we miss out anything? So share with us your experience in the comments below!

Don’t Miss Out on Zaragoza If You’re Heading to Barcelona from Madrid

Don’t Miss Out on Zaragoza If You’re Heading to Barcelona from Madrid

Zaragoza is definitely a hidden gem as most travellers tend to miss out on this beautiful city when exploring Spain. If you’re planning a trip to both Madrid and Barcelona, you should consider adding a stop in between and stay a night at Zaragoza! This charming city certainly has lots to offer!

Bask in the beautiful Aljafería Palace

Aljafería Palace has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. Not surprising why, with its rich history and beautiful architecture. It was built by the Arabs back in the 11th century and was originally meant to be a summer palace. Hence you will see lots of greenery & water in this palace.

This place has changed ownership several times, but it’s still very well maintained and preserved till date. It was even once used as a military training ground for the soldiers and unfortunately that was the time that a large part of the building was destroyed. Thankfully after it was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the government started its restoration works and now we are able to visualise what this place used to be like when it was first built.

Enjoy the breathtaking view from the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar

This has gotta be one of the best places to get the most beautiful view of the city. We took a lift up to the top of the tower and were rewarded with this amazing view. Definitely worth it!

The interior of the cathedral was also really beautiful!

Tip: Head down to the bridge at the back of the basilica for a view of the basilica. Best time would be to go during sunset!

1 night stay in Zaragoza should be sufficient to experience the charm of this splendid city. Also it’ll be a great break to take between 2 major cities, Madrid and Barcelona. Have you been to Zaragoza before? Would you recommend 1 day to explore this city? Share with us your view in the comments below!

3D2N Itinerary for Madrid, Segovia & Zaragoza

3D2N Itinerary for Madrid, Segovia & Zaragoza

With only 3 days in Madrid, here are our recommended things to do in Madrid which includes a day trip to Segovia & Zaragoza!

When in Madrid, enjoy a delicious tapas tour around the Old Quarters

One thing that we realised during this trip – Spain is all about Tapas. You’ll be able to find a tapas bar almost at every corner of the street! You won’t even need to search for it, just turn your head around and you’ll see one. So what better way to explore the city than to do a tapas tour! It’s a great way to experience the city’s culture & history, through their food! And it’s soooo delicious! We really loved the variety of tapas!

Most of the tapas bars are similar to the one in the photo above. Small and pretty crammed, with cocktail tables for people to stand around. Usually they only serve 3-4 dishes, and people drink them with wine. Tapas is kinda similar to finger food in my opinion. You can’t really get full from it. It’s more like a snack to go with your wine.

We had one of the most tasty & succulent garlic prawns ever in the tapas bar above. It was so simple, yet so good. The locals like eating the prawns with the bread, followed by a sip of their red wine.

People usually pair their tapas with wine. If you’re a wine lover, Spain is definitely a place that you must visit.

Jamón – the one thing that we ate almost every day in Spain

One of the most popular tapas is definitely the Jamón. It’s was our first time trying it and to be honest, it was kinda of an acquired taste. The taste is similar to very thin slices of ham, but a lot saltier.

Jamón’s not exactly raw meat, but neither is it cooked meat. It’s actually cured meat, meaning that the pork leg has been salted and left to hang dry for a couple of years. Ham from different pigs will cost differently, and the Iberian pigs (black pig) apparently cost the most!

Chocolate churrossssss!!! Our ultimate fav in this cold winter!

Tip: Head down to Chocolatería San Ginés where they serve the best choc churros ever!

Get transported back in time at Segovia

Segovia was one of our favourite places in Spain. A quaint little city nestled about an hour drive away from Madrid. If you are in Madrid, do make time for a day trip to Segovia!

Impressive Romanian Aqueduct

The aqueduct of Segovia

The iconic landmark of this place is the ancient Roman aqueduct which was built back in 1st century to transport water from the mountain to the city. This has gotta be one of the most impressive Roman architecture in Spain. This structure was built without the use of any cement, and it has stayed intact till now!

Check out our post about why you must make time for a day trip to Segovia for more things to do in this beautiful city!

Do Drop by Zaragoza if you’re heading to Barcelona!

Zaragoza is definitely a hidden gem as most travellers tend to miss out on this beautiful city when exploring Spain. If you’re planning a trip to both Madrid and Barcelona, you should consider adding a stop in between and stay a night at Zaragoza! This charming city certainly has lots to offer!

Do check out our post on more things to do in Zaragoza!

View from the top of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar

Inside the Aljafería Palace

Have you visited any of these cities before? Which one is your favourite? Do share with us your comments below! 😀

Exploring Belitung, The Hidden Gem of Indonesia

Exploring Belitung, The Hidden Gem of Indonesia

We were pretty stoked when we were invited to explore Belitung, a place that we’ve never heard of before! When people think of Indonesia, the first thing that comes to their mind is usually Bali. But Indonesia is so much more than just Bali! Indonesia consists of more than 15,000 islands and Belitung is just one of them!

Picturesque azure waters of Belitung island in Indonesia!

So first up…where is Belitung in Indonesia?

Belitung is this island (circled in red above) situated next to South Sumatra in Indonesia. Although geographically speaking, Belitung is much nearer to Singapore than Jakarta, the demand for flights from Singapore to Belitung is not high enough for the airline companies to come up with direct flights. Scroll to the bottom to see how to get to Belitung from Singapore!

What is there to do in Belitung?

Experience glamping at Billiton Eco-Beach Tent

Glamping at Billiton Beach Tent!

Seriously, one of the most luxurious camping experiences of our lives!

Trust us, we’ve tried glamping (or so they termed it) several times at different places. But THIS wins hands down, this truly is the epitome of glamping. For the uninitiated, glamping means glamour + camping (aka atas camping). Which glamping experience comes with AIR CONDITIONING?! And your personal outdoor shower & toilet?!

Enjoying our romantic candlelight dinner at the front porch of our tent!

We even had a romantic candlelight BBQ dinner right at our front porch. And the BBQ dinner was one of our best meals ever in Indonesia!! Definitely a MUST-TRY!

Test your balance at stand up paddle surfing

First time trying stand up paddle surfing! Fun!

This turned out to be a lot more tiring that we expected! We always thought it looked kinda easy and chill, but it was actually quite challenging! Especially at the start when we were trying to get our balance right. But once you get the hang of it, it’s quite easy, except that it’s really taxing on the thigh muscles!

ps. This activity is available for Billiton Eco-Beach Tent guests!

Trek through the wilderness and enjoy an amazing summit view

Breathtaking views at the summit of Batu Baginda!

Considered to be an easy trek, suitable for beginner hikers! Took us less than 30 minutes to reach the summit and the terrain was pretty straightforward too. We did 2 treks in Belitung, Batu Baginda and Pramoen Hills.

Batu Baginda’s summit view was breathtaking and the strong breeze was so soothing (shiok)! The last climb up to the summit was pretty challenging though where we had to climb ladders and

Pramoen Hills was quite entertaining, they had several pit stops for photo taking with props, and even a car carefully positioned at the cliff’s edge! I kid you not! We actually climbed into the car for a photo!

Taking a selfie in a car at a mountain’s cliff face? Checked!

Island hopping & snorkelling

A secret lagoon discovered at Kelayang Island!

Interestingly though, when the locals island hop, they literally island hop and not enter the waters for most of it! We visited about 5 islands in total, and only snorkelled at 1 island – Lengkuas Island (Lighthouse). For the rest of the islands, we only walked around the island and took photos with the unique rock forms.

On the way to Lengkuas Island with the lighthouse as the landmark!

The unique & distinctive feature of Belitung is certainly the huge rounded granite rocks. Being avid climbers, we were so tempted to boulder when passing by some of these rocks with cracks so deep they form amazing handholds!

One cool thing about this experience is that we were one of the rare few foreign tourists! We went on a weekend and it was packed with locals, but hardly a foreigner in sight! So if you’re looking for an authentic travel experience, you should definitely check out Belitung!

Tip: Try travelling to Belitung during the weekdays if possible to avoid the domestic crowd!

Try the traditional Belitung coffee (Must-Try!)

Ahhh we absolutely love their coffee! There’s just something so delicious and addictive about their coffee! We love the taste of the roasted coffee bean and when paired with a thick layer of condense milk, ahhh heavenly goodness!

If you’re staying at the city centre of Belitung, you must try the local’s favourite coffee at Kongdjie Coffee! It’s really gooooood! 😀

Ps. it’s only 5 minutes away from Billiton Hotel, just right across the street!

Taste the local Belitung Mie

This dish reminded us of our local dish Mee Rebus in Singapore and probably Malaysia. The gravy is a little sweet and the noodles slightly springy. Overall not too bad….but……we still prefer our all time favourite INDOMIEEE! I know…..but, we can’t help it!

Visit the “Pamukkale” of Indonesia – Danau Kaolin

Interestingly, Belitung together with a neighbouring island, Bangka, form the world’s second largest tin producer after China! The above place is at Danau Kaolin which once used to be a mining area but now no longer in use. Also known as the Blue Lake, its beautiful sky blue colour is attributed to the water deposited inside the crater being mixed together with the rich white minerals.

Get inspired at the Museum Kata Andrea Hirata

This colourful museum was founded by the author of the best selling novel, Laskar Pelangi. Also the first literature museum in Indonesia! Great place for photo taking with all the colourful walls!

Tip: Belitung grew to fame because of the popular local movie, Rainbow Troops, where they shot the movie set at Tanjung Tinggi Beach. So, watch the movie or read the book first before visiting this island to get a better appreciation!

Essential Information

How to book the above activities in Belitung

We booked our tour with Belitung Wonder, a local tour agency in Belitung. Ria was our main contact person for this trip, and she arranged all of our transport, accommodation and activities! The thing about travelling in less commercialised places is that it’s much tougher to travel around on your own (unless you hire a private driver/guide).

If you’re looking for a tour agency to travel with in Belitung, we would highly recommend Belitung Wonder!  Their service is really good, reliable & trustworthy! Pls contact Ria via email (riaindra@belitungwonder.com) for more info.

How to get to Belitung from Singapore

We flew to Jakarta first (~1.5hr) via Jetstar and then followed by a domestic flight to Belitung (~1hr) via Sriwijaya Air. Do factor in some time for the (high) possibility of the domestic flight being delayed.

Hope we inspired you to check out this hidden gem of Indonesia! Travelling off the beaten path is always more exciting! 😀