Category: Destination Guide

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Destination Review – Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

After the vibrant Kuala Lumpur and the captivating Fireflies Park, I decided to slow my pace a little to enjoy the verdant landscapes of the Cameron Highlands.

My drive North into the Highlands took me past the picturesque Lata Iskandar waterfall, providing an opportunity for a short and serene stroll to break up the drive.

My next stop was the colonial tea room at the iconic Cameron Highlands Resort near Brinchang.

The afternoon tea is served in a classically English style, with cakes, pastries, finger sandwiches and fresh scones.

The fish pond was a nice addition, adding to the serenity of the ambience.

My next stop was the Lavender Garden, around a 20 minute drive North of Brinchang, for a peaceful stroll among the floral displays.

To round off my few days of repose in the Cameron Highlands, I enjoyed a relaxing stop at the Bharat Tea Plantations and the nearby Lakehouse, to take in the tranquility of the landscape.

My base for three nights in the Cameron Highlands was the Hotel Chua Gin in Brinchang, which proved to be a supremely good value option. It offered a clean, secure and air-conditioned room with a balcony and free parking, at the almost unconscionable price of $22 or £17.50 per night.

The property did not offer breakfast, a restaurant or a bar, but there were plentiful options within a two to three minute stroll at similarly negligible cost.

This property is one of myriad options in the region, with most being concentrated around the town of Brinchang. In all honesty, most of them seem to be similarly priced and more or less interchangeable. However, I was perfectly happy with the Chua Gin, and for the sake of convenience I would be more than happy to return there.

The Cameron Highlands provided me with the perfect opportunity to relax and slow my pace, amid a somewhat hectic schedule of travelling.

If you find yourself in Malaysia during your travels, I recommend taking a few days to enjoy the serenity of this beautiful region.

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Trip Review – Fireflies Park, Kuala Selangor, Malaysia

Following on from my city break in Kuala Lumpur, I took to the road to explore some more of the highlights of the Malayan Peninsula, beginning with the coastal town of Kuala Selangor.

My trip began with a roughly one-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur, pausing briefly at a service station to watch marauding monkeys raiding the litter bins.

Kuala Selangor is renowned for its Fireflies Park, which is accessible by boat along the Selangor River.

I booked a three-hour cruise, beginning at the Sky Mirror Jetty and Boat Café.

The cruise headed out along the Selangor River, passing stilted houses and continuing into the mangrove forest, where dozens of native eagles feed.

After sunset, it was time for the highlight of the cruise, the famous Fireflies Park.

As the boat meanders along the Selangor River, the fireflies appear as thousands of tiny pinpricks of light coruscating in the darkness.

The insects need no coaxing to approach the boat and even land on the patrons.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to capture any publishable images of this enchanting spectacle, but it is a truly unforgettable experience and well worth making the trip.

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Destination Review – One Day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

After spending Christmas in Cairo, my next destination en-route to Australia was Malaysia’s vibrant capital, Kuala Lumpur.

The first place I visited was the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, a huge open aviary, where birds fly freely in an environment close to their natural habitat.

A natural segue from the Bird Park is the KLCC Eco Park, a rainforest preserve with a canopy walk, as well as the Menara Tower, offering panoramic views of the city.

The perfect way to round off a day is a visit to KLCC Park, which as the name suggests is located in the heart of the city centre. The park offers a view of the iconic Petronas Towers, as well as a nightly light show.

Naturally, this lively metropolis offers much more than can be experienced in one day, so I have chosen a small selection of the many attractions to cover in this review.

My next destination reviews will cover Kuala Selangor and the spectacular Cameron Highlands.

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Destination Review – One day in Amman, Jordan

In between my Royal Jordanian flight from Cairo and my connection to Bangkok, I had an enforced layover of 17 hours in Amman.

Since this was a largely daytime layover, I decided to head into the city and take some time to get a taste of the local sights.

In view of the length of the layover, I chose to book a cheap hotel room for the day, if only to have somewhere to shower and rest for a while, as well as having access to power for charging purposes.

I chose the centrally located Hotel Pasha, at a cost of around $34 (£26). The hotel also arranged a private airport transfer for $21 (£16) each way.

The hotel was quite basic, but it was clean, secure and had everything I needed for a one-day layover.

After depositing my hand luggage in the room and taking a quick shower to refresh myself from my early start in Cairo, I was ready to begin exploring the city.

I began at the Nymphaeum, the ruins of a Roman fountain, a short distance from the hotel.

Moving on, I strolled around the city markets, located in the heart of the city and selling everything from spices to textiles.

A short distance from the markets, I stopped at a local bakery for a light lunch, trying some the delicious savoury flatbread.

I rounded this off with some of the local ice cream, which was definitely welcome after a couple of hours of walking.

Next was the Sha’aban area, with the colourfully decorated Rainbow Street.

I finished my short tour with a visit to the Roman Theatre, across the road from my hotel.

Feeling the effects of my early start in Cairo, I then retired to my hotel for a few hours of sleep, before my overnight flight connection.

In total, I spent around four hours meandering around the streets of Amman.

Obviously this is not nearly enough even to scratch the surface of what Jordan has to offer. However it proved to be a pleasant transition from the chaos of Egypt to the serenity of Malaysia, my next destination of the season.

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Destination Review – One Day in Cairo – Pyramids of Giza

On Christmas Eve 2023, I found myself with a spare day in Cairo before continuing my Winter travels to Malaysia.

I decided to take a half-day tour to see the most iconic landmark of Egypt, the world famous Pyramids of Giza.

I was picked up shortly after midday at the Intercontinental Citystars Hotel, in a relatively modern and comfortable minibus, for the one hour drive to the pyramids.

The tour began at the Great Pyramid, dating from roughly 2,600 BCE.

The tour included an entrance ticket to the Great Pyramid. However, I declined this, having been warned of the long queues to enter and the crowded and cramped conditions inside.

Instead, I took a short stroll around the base of the pyramid, to view some of the smaller tombs, as well as the holding area for the camel rides.

After the visit to the Great Pyramid, my tour group was driven roughly ten minutes to the panoramic viewing area, offering a sweeping view of the ancient structures, juxtaposed against the distant metropolis.

Here, there was the option of taking a camel ride.

As this was Christmas Eve, there was even a camel decked out in festive garments.

Whilst there was not such an obvious animal welfare issue as I observed in Edfu, I couldn’t be sure of the situation and preferred instead to spend my time admiring the vista.

The tour concluded with a visit to the legendary Great Sphinx, the oldest known monument in Egypt, dating from the 26th Century BCE.

The tour was around six hours long, including transport from and to my hotel near the Citystars Mall, at a price of $138 (£109). With only one free day, I considered this to be good value in view of the comprehensive nature of the tour.

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Destination guide – Grand Canyon South Rim, Arizona

After flying to the USA from the Dominican Republic last Autumn, a good friend of mine and I took to the road to visit the Grand Canyon.

As we only had a few days to view this magnificent landmark, we decided to visit only the South Rim.

The South Rim is generally considered to be the best option to visit, in order to gain an overview of this spectacular natural feature.

As we visited during the late Autumn, we had to be a little patient and wait for the right conditions, but we were eventually rewarded.

As you can see, Autumn is a wonderful time of the year to appreciate this stunning vista.

On our last day, my friend ventured out in the early hours to capture the panorama in the dawn’s auroral glow.

We spent two days appreciating this captivating landscape and we could very happily have spent much longer.

The South Rim offers dozens of viewpoints, each of which offers a unique perspective on the topography.

Due to the distances between these viewpoints, it is highly advisable to travel by car, although many of the points are served by relatively frequent buses from the Grand Canyon Village and lodges.

If time is a precious commodity, as it was for us, I would suggest staying in the village lodges. We chose the Maswik Lodge, which I will review in the coming days.

All of the photographs featured in this article were taken by my good friend, Stefan Mundt of Eagle Studios in Racine, Wisconsin.

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Destination Guide – Dallas, Texas

The Texan city of Dallas is one which I have been keen to visit for some time now, and I had the chance during a recent road trip in the USA.

Dallas is best known as the site of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, so my first stop was Dealey Plaza, where this infamous event in history took place.

The Texas School Book Depository, from where the fatal shots were fired, is open to the public. Visitors can view the sixth floor box room and the road from the viewpoint of the assassin.

My afternoon and evening were spent viewing the city from the observation deck of the Reunion Tower, which offers a 360° panaroma from a height of 470 feet (143 metres).

My next stop was the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, which at the time of my visit was decorated for Christmas.

After this, there was time to fit in a visit to the Dallas World Aquarium, which as well as marine life houses a wide varierty of exotic birds and is a very pleasant place to while away a few hours.

The few days I spent in Dallas provided only a taste of what this iconic city has to offer. It is definitely a city I would look forward to visiting again.

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Destination review – One day in Santo Domingo

On my way back from the Dominican Republic’s northern coast to Punta Cana, I stopped by Santo Domingo to see what the nation’s capital had to offer.

The main attraction of Santo Domingo is the Zona Colonial – the old Spanish quarter, which allows a multitude of possibilities simply to wander and immerse oneself in Latin America’s rich colonial history.

I started my walk at the Catedral Primada de América. Dating from the 16th Century, this is the oldest cathedral in the Americas.

I continued to the Parque Colón, followed by a slow meander along the Calle las Damas towards to Fortaleza Ozama, finishing with a coffee at the Plaza España.

From there, there was time to appreciate the Parque Independencia, commemorating the independence of the Dominican Republic in 1856 following a 12 year war.

It is important to remember that while Santo Domingo is a coastal city, it is not a beach destination.

Although there are beaches along the Malecon seaside walk, they are in a pretty sad state and unsuitable for use.

If you are looking for pleasant beaches, you need to travel at least an hour west of the city.

Santo Domingo’s charm lies not in its beach life, but in the depth of colonial heritage to be found in the historical quarter.

If you have the chance to spend some time in Santo Domingo, I definitely recommend taking a day to explore the Zona Colonial.

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Destination review – Cabarete Caves, Dominican Republic

As part of my three week stay on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, I headed slightly inland for a day to visit the 5 million year old limestone caves near Cabarete.

This natural phenomenon is carved by natural cold water rivers and range from tight, narrow passages to wide open caverns.

Safety precautions are rudimentary, but our group’s tour passed without incident.

The caves are full of intricately formed stalactites and stalagmites, formed over the course of millions of years.

The Cabarete Caves are easily accessible from the main destinations on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast, around a 10 minute drive from Cabarete, 30 minutes from Sosua and one hour from Puerto Plata.

My visit was arranged by the language school, where I was studying Spanish, but travel can easily be independently arranged by private or shared taxi, or in the ubiquitous fixed route minibuses known as guaguas.

If you have a spare day in this region, it is well worth stopping by Cabarete to visit the caves.

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Destination – One Day in Little Rock

Little Rock, Arkansas is an often overlooked option for a stop between Memphis and Dallas. I decided to call in on exactly this route and check out this pretty little city.

My day started with brunch at The Corner Diner in the Downtown area. There was a long line of customers waiting to get in, but I was assured it would be worth it.

It certainly was. My Hot Chicken Waffle was tasty and the service was excellent.

After brunch I decided a little exercise was called for, so I walked a roughly 5-mile stretch of the Trail of Tears, a network of trails spanning more than 5,000 miles across 9 states.

The trail took me along the Arkansas River, past the Main Street and North Broadway bridges and several pretty picnic areas.

After my 5-mile stroll I decided to catch the historic tram back to town to pick up my car and head onwards towards Dallas.

Little Rock is a pleasant little city and I definitely think it is worth either a day trip from Memphis, or a stop along the route to Dallas.

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