Hello, New York!

Featured city of the day - NEW YORK CITY! 

Many big films have been shot in this city before and it was a great privilege for me to step foot on this city.

Unlike the different cities I've been to in the states, New York is indeed a big apple! It's always crowded and walls are decorated with street arts - Pretty much the stuff you can think of in a typical hollywood film!

This is one of my favourite picture - Top of the Rock. The view is simply magnificent!!

MOMA - The Museum of Modern Art. If you're an art junkie, this is one place you never want to miss!

Train Station

World Trade Center Boundaries

An event that changes American's History

The new facade

Street photography - flowers that instantly brighten one's day!

One of the more popular cruise that most tourists take - Circle line

The weather wasn't helping though!

Statue of Liberty

- After rain - 

One of my favourite places in NYC got to be Grand Central Park, it is so beautiful and therapeutic! A great place for families and friends to hang out! 

An evening night stroll would be perfect :)

Tourists watching some street performances going on while I immerse myself with the architectures here in Grand Central Station

Famous eatery outlet - Shake Shack!!! I've long heard about it before I even arrive in NYC. It's really good, another "must-try"!!

Street Photography/ Arts in NYC

So here's some places you can explore while in NYC, wherever it is, make every minute count!

The author is a graduate of UNLV and this article is written specially for NATAS.

Weekend Getaway - Bintan

Working life is so hectic in Singapore, finally its time for a short getaway to Bintan – Tanjung Pinang. This trip was also to celebrate someone’s birthday. J

 

Ferry to Bintan

The stark difference between this trip and trips to the Bintan resorts is that we will get to experience and explore the city life of Tanjung Pinang in Bintan! And off we go for the city tour…



Local Food Products

 

More food…
 

Most of the locals travel via foot or scooters/bikes. It was mentioned that a driving license can be obtained by the locals aged as young as 16.

 



And we arrived at our next destination, Maitri Graha, a Chinese temple that housed the tallest Goddess Guanyin in Bintan, towering at 16 meters.

Next up, lunch!

 

 

 

Mini shopping at the local shop. There were many handicrafts for sale.

 

 

After lunch, we went for a traditional massage at the local vicinity. The experience was different from the massages you get at the resorts. It was a refreshing and brand new experience for us. Following which, we checked in at our accommodation, Aston Hotel, and unpacked. We were all eagerly awaiting for our seaside seafood dinner in the evening.

And back we go to the hotel after dinner. Not forgetting, a photo of my tour group!

Good morning Bintan! Day 2 here we go.

Breakfast at the hotel…

 

Focusing a little bit on the hotel where we reside in, it is located in the city center, unlike the resorts in Bintan. In contrast with Singapore, they allowed smoking in the hotel general areas, which is something that smokers will love. The staff there were well mannered and diligent, what they lack of in lingual skills, they replaced with excellent service attitude and manners. Now let us take a quick peek at the hotel…

 

And before leaving the hotel, some roadside delicacies!

 

 

And lastly, home sweet home!

 

 

Sayonara Bintan, Hello Singapore.

 

Photo Credits:
© hayatehong

 

South Lake Tahoe - My Favorite Getaway Vacation

Hello Readers!

I'm glad to have the privilege to share with you my trip to South Lake Tahoe! In case you're wondering, this amazing destination is located in North America & it features America's best lake as of 2012!

Packing my hiking boots along with me, I can barely wait to board the plane to my now-favorite getaway vacation!

This was one of the few pictures I captured along the journey to our hotel, it look gorgeous isn't it? I knew the trip is going to be an exciting one!

So this was where we stayed for the next 3 nights or so - BASECAMP! It's great location and facilities makes it really popular with travellers. I will recommend this place to young travellers who is up for some adventures! 

Nice decorations within the lodging that makes everyone feel cosy and warm :)

The gigantic bicycle along the street!

Fun activities for the kids while the parents soak in the ambience of South Lake Tahoe!

So we decided to make full use of our trip and Hiking was definitely part of our plan. After looking through different maps and seeking advices from the manager of Basecamp, we decided to go to Van Sickle Bi-State Park!

If you're one of those twilight fans, you will definitely love the feeling of walking in the woods, keeping close to nature!

Amazing view when we reach the mid-point :)

The next day we decided to take a stroll along the beach..

We were completely blown away with the gorgeous view

It was approximately 12 degrees or so and we were determined to catch the sunset!

Glad we endured through the cold!!

This was one of the restaurants found along the beach. Apparently, there was a wedding event taking place the night before. I bet it was a beautiful scene!!!

And we had a great night spent even though it was crazy cold and the heater near our table wasn't working.

Of course! This was not all my South Lake Tahoe trip was about. I had the opportunity to visit Gondola as well as taking a cruise to Emerald Bay. I had so much fun for this trip and if there were chances, I will definitely want to visit this place again!!

This article is written specially for NATAS.

The author is an alumni of UNLV.