Travel - Travel With A Butterfly

This was my third time in Singapore. The first time when I was really young, so I have no recollection of it or whatever. The second time was 8 years ago for my high school graduation, but that time I got really sick. This time, I was able to enjoy Singapore while being fully healthy. There were a lot of things that caught my eye that I didn’t notice the first time around in Singapore.

First of course was upon riding the taxi to my first accommodation, the road along was as if giving me a glimpse of Singapore’s Botanic Gardens (beautiful trees, flowers etc.), and then it morphed into what you would picture Singapore to be – a city with modern architecture. Continue reading Celebrating Singapore’s 50th Anniversary

Indonesia

Amazing Bali

ByRyan Lee

My first impression of Bali – I’m in a taxi (taksi) and there’s another taxi with no driver blocking our path. My driver gets out and single handedly pushes the car away.

This is going to be an interesting place.

Within 10 minutes, I knew I was going to come back here – I had a good feeling about this place. Twice have I ever felt this feeling – once in Las Vegas, then here. And both times I’ve been extremely mesmerized.

While on the taxi ride to our villa, Bali reminded me of Cambodia a little bit, but a much more developed version of Cambodia. You can also tell there were tourists left and right. In fact, there was traffic even at 9:30pm – 10:00pm ish on a Thursday. Even Hong Kong and Los Angeles doesn’t have this type of traffic at these time intervals.

In a way, it also reminded me of Phuket. All the villas and stuff… but there were much nicer stores everywhere. It felt much more urban and international. You keep coming across Japanese and Chinese restaurants and the roads are very nice and not bumpy at all, very smooth (unlike Johannesburg and Cambodia). Continue reading Amazing Bali

Japan

Let’s Drive: Tokyo (Japan Part Four)

ByRyan Lee

Out of the four posts in this series of posts of Japan, this title is probably the most misleading as I didn’t drive around Tokyo. After Nagoya, I returned the car near Shibuya and took public transportation for the rest of my stay here. As you may know, Tokyo boasts some of the most expensive parking and finding places to park isn’t easy. Even just driving here from Nagoya was a headache for the last two hours as I spent most of my time stuck in traffic.

Read part one: Izu Peninsula, Hakone and Gotemba

Read part two: Mt. Fuji and Fuji Five Lakes

Read part three: Nagoya Continue reading Let’s Drive: Tokyo (Japan Part Four)

Japan

Let’s Drive: Nagoya (Japan Part Three)

ByRyan Lee

This is part three of a four part series blog post. The first talked about my days in Izu Peninsula, Hakone, and Gotemba. You can read it by clicking here.

The second part talked about the climb to Mt. Fuji summit and Fuji Five Lakes. You can read the second part by clicking here.

This blog post will concentrate on Nagoya.

You can read about the 4th post, on Tokyo, by clicking here.

Accommodations

Nagoya – Dormy Inn Premium Nagoya Sakae. 2-20-1 Nishiki, Naka-ku, Nagoya Station / Downtown, Nagoya, Japan, 460-0003. Booked through www.agoda.com. Continue reading Let’s Drive: Nagoya (Japan Part Three)

Japan

Let’s Drive: Mt. Fuji and Fuji Five Lakes (Japan Part Two)

ByRyan Lee

This is a continuation of my Japan trip. For more information on my climb to Mt. Fuji summit, read below. For part one on Izu Peninsula, Hakone, and Gotemba, read here. For part three on Nagoya, read here. For part four on Tokyo, click here.

Accommodations

Mt. Fuji Station Hotel. 2-7-12 Matsuyama, Fujiyoshida-shi, Yamanashi, Kawaguchi-ko / Sai-ko, Mount Fuji, Japan, 403-0016. Booked through www.agoda.com.

Similar to the Hotel MyStays; it’s like those very good budget hotels that aren’t terrible but is quite small but honestly it has everything you need, and it’s tidy and clean enough that you don’t have to worry about a thing. Please note that this hotel was booked for the days we were suppose to visit Fuji Five Lakes AND Mt. Fuji, but this hotel is not exactly in any of the locations. It’s still some driving distance (around 15-20 mins) from the lakes, and definitely far from the Yoshida 5th station at Mt. Fuji (more on that in 2nd post). Also has parking. Continue reading Let’s Drive: Mt. Fuji and Fuji Five Lakes (Japan Part Two)

Japan

Let’s Drive: Izu Peninsula, Hakone, Gotemba (Japan Part One)

ByRyan Lee

This is a series of four blog posts because of the number of different places I went to for my Japan trip, and I want each post short enough to keep you from getting bored but long enough to provide you as many details as I could.

This first post will focus on the western parts beyond Tokyo – Izu Peninsula, Hakone, and Gotemba. The second part will focus on Mt. Fuji and Fuji Five Lakes, especially focus on Mt. Fuji since I feel it deserves a more special post. The third part will focus on Nagoya, and the fourth post will focus on Tokyo. The Gotemba was mainly going to the Gotemba Premium Outlets, and we actually went on two separate days. So it was outlets, Mt. Fuji and Fuji Five Lakes, then a revisit to Gotemba again. Continue reading Let’s Drive: Izu Peninsula, Hakone, Gotemba (Japan Part One)

Cambodia

Surviving the Cambodian Heat – Siem Reap

ByRyan Lee

While Phnom Penh may be the capital of Cambodia, the true tourist gems are in Siem Reap. If you had a limited time and had to choose Phnom Penh or Siem Reap to visit, choose the latter. Angkor Wat is a UNESCO World Heritage Centre for a reason.

In fact, because Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia, you should be able to get even cheaper rates of Tuk Tuk in Siem Reap. Visit Vithei Charles De Gaulle and the road has a lot of nice resorts there.

This post will focus on Siem Reap (Days 2 and 3). For information on Phnom Penh and general tips about Cambodia, please visit: https://travelwithabutterfly.com/surviving-the-cambodian-heat-phnom-penh/ Continue reading Surviving the Cambodian Heat – Siem Reap

Cambodia

Surviving the Cambodian Heat – Phnom Penh

ByRyan Lee

It’s amazing how two countries separated by a 2 hour flight can contrast so differently, and yet this is what I experienced during my trip to Cambodia.

Unlike the skyscrapers and luxurious cars in Hong Kong, Cambodia was about the dust and the beating sun. We were at both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, with the former being extremely dusty. The weather was extremely hot, but without the humidity, I personally found it more accommodating than the insufferable humidity that is in Hong Kong.

One thing I particularly noticed was the number of different international influences the country has. The streets have prominent French figures named after them. There are numerous US company brands everywhere, not to mention the numerous Chinese companies that also exist in this developing country. When you witness this many different country influences, you know the country’s been through some turmoil. Continue reading Surviving the Cambodian Heat – Phnom Penh

Travel

Twenty Five Amazingly Helpful Tips To Enhance Your EDC Vegas Experience

ByRyan Lee

Nooo, I’m not talking about drugs!!! I’m talking about practical tips so you can avoid the hassle and actually experience EDC with ease. Friends of mine have told me that EDC Vegas is a life changing experience, I kid you not. By the way, even though I’m specifically referring to EDC Vegas in this post, I guess some of these tips are applicable to other dance music festivals as well. (SPOILER ALERT) This post contains pictures of last year’s EDC event. Continue reading Twenty Five Amazingly Helpful Tips To Enhance Your EDC Vegas Experience

France

C’est Paris!

ByRyan Lee

A short excerpt from Jan. 4, 2014 while on the train to Paris, “It’s Saturday 9am. I’ve only slept a little over 2 hours at the moment. It seems that the taste of beer hasn’t completely left my stomach yet. Neither my stomach nor my head seem to be friends with me right now. I am dehydrated. Instead of sleeping and waking up early to catch the 6:18am train to Paris, my friends and I decided it would be better off to party our asses off. We initially tried Ministry of Sound at first. Yes the legend, the place where all EDM was created and played and the record label that produces many many super DJs. To our disappointment, the place was closed. It was cause Christmas and New Year apparently was an extended holiday in London, more like a 2 week vacation than a 2 day vacation. No problem. This time we decided to check out Funky Buddha. It was a risk – we were wearing tourist clothes; well I was. White pants with stain. A fur jacket which was layered with another twin jacket, a mullet, and white shoes, the killer of going to a classy club. Anyway we tried going in and boom there we are, we managed to get into the ‘Sugar’ (old HK club) of London. BURP. There’s another weird taste lingering in my mouth. That’s the taste of the salted roast beef we had walking back to (my friend’s) place pretty much passing Brick Lane and all the sketchy places there was but that salty roast beef was amazingly good.”

Arriving in Paris, I clearly wasn’t in my best state. Neither did I have any time to recover as I had a short two day weekend before my trip back to London. So within this short span, I was determined to visit all the touristy locations in Paris. This included little sleep and well organized planning. Continue reading C’est Paris!