Travel With A Butterfly

You see all these pictures of the French Riviera and think this area cannot be that nice right? Right? When I arrived in Nice, it was everything I expected and more.

I was based mainly in Nice for the week I was at Cote D’Azur… Nice is ideal if you’re traveling to places like Monaco, Antibes, Eze, and Saint Tropez. Actually, I would recommend staying one night at Saint Tropez as there is no public transportation to go there (well very inconvenient), so usually people either take the boat or drive there themselves. Besides Saint Tropez (spent a night there), all of my other trips were day trips. I didn’t go to Marseille, but from what I’ve looked at you will probably need more than a day there plus it is a bit farther. However, you can definitely go there by public transportation, ideally the SNCF train. Continue reading Cote D’Azur with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Yachts, and Bastille Attack

France

Shop, Shop, Shop in Paris

ByRyan Lee

My trip to France was split into two parts – one was a few days in Paris at the beginning and one day at the end, and in the middle was my trip to Cote d’Azur. If you’ve seen my older posts before, you will know that I’ve been to Paris once… although it was just for a two day weekend trying to cramp all the tourist attractions possible. So if you’re looking for more info on Eiffel Tower, Sacred Coeur, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, the love lock bridge etc., I suggest you read my post C’est Paris!. The purpose of my visit for Paris this time around is to act a little less touristy. Continue reading Shop, Shop, Shop in Paris

Taiwan

Surfing in Kenting

ByRyan Lee

This is my second time going to Kenting. The first time was about water activities, food, sightseeing, and chilling. This time, it was about surfing.

Kenting is a simple, quiet area which offers little of everything else and plentiful of beaches and waves. Kenting is often visited most by couples, families with children, and high school students, as evident by the people we saw. Besides the Kenting night market, there is little elsewhere that you would see crowds, particularly at night. A 15 minute walk from our hostel and not a single sighting of a bar; this place does not have any entertainment after sunset except for the night market. There’s even one nightclub, the King Night Club, which to be honest from the outside looks nothing like a nightclub – all I see are dart tables, and no trace of a dance floor. (OK I’m on their Facebook and there are tables and chairs and you watch performances… and sometimes you can dance on the floor). What can I say, we didn’t go in so maybe I shouldn’t be judging, but Kenting just isn’t a place for nightlife. Continue reading Surfing in Kenting

China

Living In The Du

ByRyan Lee

Chengdu was everything I expected it to be, and at the same time everything I didn’t expect it to be.

Chengdu, an up and coming Chinese city, was in most areas similar to that of Shenzhen, appearance wise. Old buildings, dirt, pollution… you could tell Chengdu was a Chinese city. If anything, Chengdu was a bit scarier than Shenzhen as you can see that many buildings weren’t occupied and there were buildings that were still under construction with no clear indication that these buildings would be completed. Continue reading Living In The Du

China

A Weekend In Shanghai

ByRyan Lee

Yup you read that right; my friend and I spent a weekend in Shanghai back in Sept. 2011 when I just started having a full time job. In need of a break, we decided to spend a weekend in Shanghai to destress, be young, and have fun.

Since this is a post that’s done more than 4 years after my trip, the exact stuff I’ve done is a bit hazy. Instead, I’ll put up pictures and a bit of description of what these pictures represent.

Maybe it’s just me, but I found the Shanghainese people to be direct and aggressive sometimes, at least for the people I met. Not all of them, maybe a few, some of them were really nice to us of course.

Anyway I am not sure how well their English was since we were speaking mainly Mandarin with them, so of course I suggest going there with someone that speaks Mandarin as well! Continue reading A Weekend In Shanghai

Events

16 Music Festivals To Go To In 2016

ByRyan Lee

It’s 2016 and what better excuse to travel to different places by attending different music festivals around the world? There are so many different music festivals, with different atmosphere, differente venues, different genres, different people, and of course different artists, that each and every single one of them can bring you a unique experience. Here are 16 music festivals you should go to for 2016 (in alphabetical order): Continue reading 16 Music Festivals To Go To In 2016

Thailand

Wat To Do In Chiang Mai

ByRyan Lee

Chiang Mai is one of those places where you hear about it, then you’re like, “Why not go somewhere else in Thailand? We could go Bangkok, or Phuket…” Well, first of all I’ve been to both. Secondly, it’s also one of HK Express’ destinations from Hong Kong. And if you have enough days (we didn’t), you can go to Myanmar or Laos since Chiang Mai is more north. Continue reading Wat To Do In Chiang Mai

Taiwan

Chinese New Year in Taipei

ByRyan Lee

Taipei’s a great city to go to, especially coming from Hong Kong, as it makes a great 3-4 day trip. But compared to Hong Kong, everything is so much cheaper there… food, nightclub, transportation etc. Actually I was very surprised by how much more country side it was compared to Hong Kong. I can’t wait to go back to Taipei soon.

But one thing for sure, I won’t be going back during Chinese New Year. This trip was back in 2012 end of January, and because Taiwanese people were also celebrating Chinese New Year, most of the stores there were closed! In fact, it was frigid and it was constantly raining, so it made everything worse. The weather was always gloomy as well. Continue reading Chinese New Year in Taipei

Travel

Celebrating the New Year in London

ByRyan Lee

Similar to the Paris post, this trip was done a year ago. In fact, the Paris trip was a side trip from my couple of days in London. The point is, it’s been a while and again I may not have the full details of this trip. What I do remember vividly however, is arriving at about 5:30am to my hostel, hoping the sun would come out at about 8-9am, only to wait till 4pm before it appeared, before it quickly hid itself again at 6pm. It’s official – I do not like the weather in London during the winter. Raining everyday… Dates I travelled: Dec. 29, 2013 to Jan. 7, 2014. Below are a couple of useful tips and pictures along with descriptions for some of them. Continue reading Celebrating the New Year in London

Travel

A Short Trip to Kaohsiung and Taichung

ByRyan Lee

This trip going to Kaohsiung and Taichung was back in 2013, before I started travel blogging, so I didn’t write many details about the trips. However, I will share with you my pictures in those places.

What I do remember is that both places were actually quite rural, well not completely rural but definitely didn’t feel urbanized / city like. Everything there was so cheap! In order to survive in Taiwan though, you would definitely need to know some mandarin. But definitely it was a really cheap trip – flight, accommodation, food, transportation, nothing there was expensive. Maybe I’ll save more money spending my weekends in Kaohsiung instead haha. Continue reading A Short Trip to Kaohsiung and Taichung