It’s the other China. The one that has a 300 years history that blends a bit of other Southeast Asian countries and Japan.

It’s known history dates back to 1709 with the Han Chinese settling in the Taipei Basin.  When China loss the Sino-Japanese war, it ceded the entire island of Taiwan to Japan in 1895.  The occupation of the Japanese on Taiwan is the reason why much of the architecture of Taipei dates back to the Japanese era.  When the Japanese were defeated in the Pacific war and eventually surrendered in August 1945, Taiwan was taken over by National troops.  In 1947, the Kuomintang government under Chiang Kai-Shek declared martial law in Taiwan.  On December 7, 1948, the Kuomintang government under Chiang Kai-Shek established Taipei as the provisional capital of the Republic of China after the communists forced them to flee mainland China.

And it’s a compact city where food tripping is a must! It’s top souvenir item is their pineapple shaped sponge cake!

Food here is cheap, tasty and, well…a lot of fun. Where else can you find a country where eating is the best way to understand being a native?

The National Museum in Taipei is home to the world’s largest and finest collection of Chinese art.  The various floors/levels of the museum is divided into:

1. Level 1 – rare books, Qing and Ming dynasty furnitures and gallery orientation for the overview of dynasties
2. Level 2 – paintings, calligraphy, history of Chinese ceramics and famous paintings
3. Level 3 – bronzes, weapons, carvings, stunning Jade collections and the Jade Cabbage
4. Level 4 – Sanxitang teahouse (dim sum and tea).  There are several other restaurants in the museum (Silks Palace on the ground level and a food court in the basement

Of course, there is Taipei 101, once held the title as the world’s tallest building for a few years.  Standing at 508 meters (until 2011), it held the title of the world’s tallest green building. Get off at the 5th floor of the shopping mall and take the pressure-controlled lift that takes you up to the observation deck on the 89th floor at 1,010 meters/minute (or a mere 40 seconds from ground to top).  If you’re lucky, with weather permitting, there’s an outdoor deck on the 91st floor that is open to the public as well.

But a trip to Taipei will never be complete without a visit to the Tonghua Night Market and the Ningxia Night Market.  They are a few of Taipei’s liveliest night markets and are an experience all to itself for shopping, street food, and binging on rows and rows of food.  To get the the Ningxia Night Market, take the MRT stop at Shuanglian Station and you’ll find hundreds of street stalls tempting you with local delights.

Then there’s the restaurants.  And South Beauty should be mandatory on your list for gastronomic delight.

We stayed at a boutique hotel, Hotel Eclat.  It may be a few blocks off some of the more commercial areas but is accessible by a short stroll and is highly recommended, if even experiencing the bone china wares for your meals!

The week long vacation had just begun.  At the break of dawn, we were off to the port of Piraeus for our travel from Athens to Santorini.  This is the second part of our Greek vacation.

There are two options to the island of Santorini.  By plane, the flight would just take less than 50 minutes.  But traveling to the airport, getting baggage checked, waiting for boarding and repeating the cycle when you get to Santorini was less a thrill than taking a superfast ferry (which will take you 4 1/2 hours with one stop at Ios Island).  It also was much cheaper taking the ferry than flying (150 Euros for a one way flight from Athens to Santorini vs. 58 Euros by ferry).  The ferry was super comfy and breakfast could be purchased on board. You’d also get to appreciate the other beautiful islands of Greece.

The brief stop at Ios Island featured a typical laid back fishing village. Restful and calm.

Santorini is divided into various cities within the city.  Fira, Firostefina, Oia, and Imerovigli. Fira is the capital of Santorini.  It is also where the major nightlife is. It’s the most touristy area.  Just imagine a larger scale Boracay marketplace!

We stayed at the Dreams Luxury Suites (at Imerovigli) for the next 6 nights.  The lodging alone deserves a story in itself. It had its own jacuzzi and breakfast was served at our suite at whatever time of the day we wanted. Overlooking each of the suites is the caldera.  According to our hostess, the island of Santorini was born out of lava during the eruption in 1660 BC.  The middle part of the volcano sank into the sea, leading to what is now left to what is known as Santorini. The massive rock formation surrounding the caldera was actually from the lava over the past several centuries.

The sunset from the room between 930-10PM was the most stunning sunset I have ever appreciated in my lifetime.  How beautiful it was to just watch the glory the world God created sipping a glass of wine or champagne from any balcony facing the caldera.

The best way to get around Santorini – is to rent a car! At 60 euros a day, that in itself was worth the price.  Walking around will just take you around between Fira and Oia.  But to those who wish to venture a bit more, here are two other places that would make your stay in Santorini worth it all.

Ammoudi

Going around Santorini (which is 35 km from the north tip Oia to the south tip Akrotiri) by public transportation – bus or taxi.  Or renting a car.  The latter is the best option. Parking is free everywhere. And with 10 Euros worth of gas, the Nissan Micra should make your trip in the island worth every minute.

On the far end of the north is the fishing village at the bottom of Oia – Ammoudi. And stunning is a word that would not do justice to describing the village – from the view to the food! At Katina, the freshest lobsters and greek salad were to die for.  Katina is highly recommended by the New York Times as a must place to eat.  And nothing gets more authentic than having the freshest seafood caught and served right after the catch.

Perivolos and Oia

What else is there to do in an island surrounded by sun and sea? Go to the beach, of course!

Amazing water, cosmopolitan shops, home to the “elite” in the island of Santorini is Perivolos. It’s a short 20 minutes drive along winding roads from Imerovigli to the beaches on Perivolos.

Anemos Bar (situated in a yard of an old tomato factory) was where we stayed for our “picnic” on the beach. Drinks were brought into the cabana and lunch served on a beach basket. The huts of course were not free.  You had to dish out 10 Euros on top of the meals and drinks (which you had to order from there). It was life at its finest.  It even had a service button on the hut, which had the waiters/butlers at your beck and call.

Oia was a perfect getaway from the party life in Fira.

Oia is one of the more picturesque villages on the rim of the cliff side which takes you all the way to a village of 79 churches.  Oia is considered the cultural heart of the island as it plays host to a cultural centre and art galleries as well the most beautiful resorts in the island right at the caldera. Oia is practically the highest peak at the north of the island, and thus has the best sunset view in all of Santorini.  Unlike Fira and Imerovigli, many of the walk ways in Oia are not made of cobblestones but of marble!

Dining at 1800 (and yes, that is the name of the restaurant) would speak a million languages on the excellent quality of the food in Santorini.  Highly recommended and reviewed by the New York Times, gourmet dining at 1800 takes food to a different level.  And why not for almost 150 Euros per person?

Unforgettably stunning vacations is what life is all about.

The spectacular? Well, it’s up to us!

Amsterdam, located in the province of “Noord-Holland”, is one of the more popular destinations in Europe.  And for good reasons.

Our travel on a starry starry fortnight after our trip to Berlin took us to this northern part of the Netherlands (once upon a time, Holland).

In the early 13th century, Amsterdam was a bustling fishing village on a river bed. Today, it is the centre of commerce, tourism and culture.  If Barcelona is home to Catalan Modernist Antoni Gaudi, Amsterdam is home to the Van Gogh Museum where the works of its tortured native son Vincent are found.

And, if you’re not yet “nauseated” with the cultural heritage that Europe has to offer, make sure you drop in to more museums like the Rikjsmuseums filled with Rembrandts and Vermeers or the Stedelijk Museum where Matisses and Mondrians fill its modern stocks. And of course, one should not miss the house of Anne Frank (Anne Frank Huis, author of The Diary of Anne Frank).  There is a long queue to this museum alone (drawing more than a million visitors each year).  The focus of the museum of Anne Frank is the rear house, also known as the “secret annex”.  This part of the house is a dark, airless space where the Franks and other people observed complete silence during the daytime. Its somber and eeriness is the perfect match to the jigsaw trip, after Vienna and Berlin.

Aside from deep historical culture, there are many other places to enjoy in Amsterdam.  The Jordaan and the West was a former worker’s quarters teeming with cozy pubs, galleries and markets.  And of course, there’s the infamous red light district as well, that’s well, so touristy.  I suggest that before you go, make an itinerary of where you want to visit in Amsterdam, as you may miss the neighbourhoods that have their own stories to tell.

Amsterdam is also home to a gastronomic experience.

And if you’re wanting for tulips (make sure you go in the spring), take a bus ride to Keukenhof gardens.  It’s one trip you shouldn’t miss, as these pictures alone speak volumes for why it is worth the side trip.

Jet lag.

Who was it that once said

After a vacation, one will always need another vacation to get over the hangover.

On the flight back, I was already contemplating on where our next travel destination would be.

More importantly, is the when.

Traveling on a vacation isn’t a spur of the moment decision. This decision is based on the factor of resources. I peg an actual vacation budget, then try to look for bargain destinations and airline fares that fit this. Agoda.com or Trivago.com comes in helpful as well when you want to look for bargain and discounts on hotels to your destination.

Thorough research is done (that’s where the fun is) so that you can maximise your trip. Where to go. What to do. When is the best time to be there without being too burdensome (e.g., traveling during the winter may entail carrying so much luggage for winter clothes that it’s really not fun traveling during the winter season of your plan is to go shopping). Timing of events (e.g., SALE, concerts, dining privileges and more).

On my return flight, reality had begun to sink in as my tired weary body was returning to its physiological stage of reasoning on why the vacation has ended so quickly…

Upon arrival into Manila, you get a sense of being back home and not wishing it was home. Don’t get me wrong! It’s just that you get to wonder why our airport (that alone being the showcase window to the world) is not at par with the other airports where we came from? The customs counters were super efficient this time around (and kudos to that).  Then there were just 3 baggage belts working (2 were being fixed) and we came in with 5 flights almost one after the other. So you know what that meant. When you go out of the airport, the mayhem at the arrival area tells you that you are in Manila.  It’s such a let down that you’re trying to manoeuvre your baggage carts in the rain with a crowd of relatives that have flocked to the airport.  It’s a disappointment that you end up comparing our disorganised airports with those where we travel to.  The reality check is – I am back home.

The traffic.  The weather.  The work.

A few hour after arriving, I receive a call.  It is back to work.

Because, I owe, I owe…so off to work I go.