Manhattan New York at night

Manhattan New York has the highest density of skyscrapers in the world. Due to this and historical buildings, the city is extremely photogenic. You can capture many great view around the city especially at night. Below are some of the examples:




Empire State Building from Bryant Park.

Chrysler building. An art deco style skyscraper which is unique and contemporary. Was the tallest building in the world before overtook by Empire State building in 1931.

Fulton building.

Times Square.

Playing chess in the middle of Times Square.

The police duty at Times Square must be very busy entertaining photo capture request.

Radio City music hall.

Rockefeller Center.

New York Public Library.

Beautiful view of San Francisco from Twin Peaks

Twin Peaks offers great panoramic view of San Francisco and this is a famous spot for tourist who wanted to enjoy the view of the Bay Area. As San Francisco always covers in fog, many has suggested to visit this place later in the afternoon. Else you will be disappointed just to see the clouds with low visibility to view the Bay Area. Do take note that the parking space at the summit were quite limited as well during peak hours. There are telescopes for a few coins which allows you to view San Francisco from distance. It can get breezy so take a sweater up there.


On the way up to Twin Peaks summit.

This view was captured around 11.30am in the morning. You can see that the city of San Francisco was quite foggy.

Budget Seoul Trip Itinerary - 7 days 6 Nights

Seoul was the first North Asia city that I visited. With the hype of Korean drama especially about the royal Korean food at that time, it is a interesting and wise destination choice. Seoul has a fascinating mix of old and new. Around the city, there are many old palaces which you can explore and I indeed spent 2.5 days just to visit all 4 major palaces in Seoul. You can purchase combination ticket with entrance to all 5 main attractions at just 10,000 Won (USD9.00). Seoul also have modern skyscrapers, mega human made river park, world's largest corporations and efficient subway systems. There are many districts which suits one interest to visit. From fashionable and young Apgujeong district to traditional and old Gwanghwamun district.


Get a T-Card if you stay a week in Seoul and plan to fully utilize their subway systems. Over the years, T-Card has integrated into many restaurant and shops around Seoul. So it can be use as cash card as well. Using T-Card provide you with convenience and you will also get discount of 100 Won on each subway ride. Seoul has become a success model in creating a cashless society.

Clean and spacious airport express train.

Changing of guards in Gyeongbokgung palace.

World famous Cheonggyecheon stream. Successful model of urban renewal.

Autumn foliage in Gyeongbokgung palace.

Busy shopping street of Myeongdong.

Cute teddy bears in Teddy Bear museum at Namsan Tower.

Seoul olympic park. They hosted the 1988 olympic games.

Trick eye museum nearby Hongik University.

Rainbow bridge fountain at Banpo Hangang Park.

Day	Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Night
Day 1 (Fri)	1. Arrival from Kuala Lumpur to Seoul via Malaysia Airlines on Boeing 777 flight. The journey takes approximately 7.5 hours. 2. Purchase T-Card from 7-Eleven located at Incheon Airport. 3. Check in at Kimchi Hongdae hostel near Hongik University Station.	1. Having eel bento set lunch at O Bento	1. Visit Gyeongbokgung the largest palace in Seoul. 2. Visit Cheonggyecheon the best model of urbal renewal. Great park to visit.	1. Dinner near Dongdaemun station. Good vegetarian bibimbap and cheap. 2. Explore around Dongdaemun area. 3. Explore Myeongdong shopping street. Many fashionable boutiques and street food stalls are available. Large crowd at night.
Day 2 (Sat)	1. Having bread as breakfast purchased from bakery from the night before. 2. Visit UNESCO world heritage palace of Changdeokgung. Historic palace with private garden.	1. Drinking shikhye drink (Korean rice fermented drink) 2. Having vegetarian bibimbap as lunch.	1. Visit Korean traditional old houses. 2. Took bus. Heading to Namsan Tower. 3. Visit teddy bear museum which is just located at ground floor of Namsan Tower. Take the combination ticket of Namsan Tower and teddy bear museum for extra savings.	1. Visit Itaewon and have handmade noodles kalguksu as dinner.
Day 3 (Sun)	1. Visit Deoksu palace for guarding changing ceremony and to view the westernized feature of the palace.	1. Visiting Jongmyo shrine and took their walking tour. You can't walk alone in Jongmyo shrine. Do follow the time of your preferred language tour. 2. Having pork chop as lunch	1. Heading to Samgakji subway station to visit The Korea War Memorial. This is the world largest war memorial with many actual planes and war ships on display.	1. Visit shopping area of Dongdaemun. 2. Chicken ginseng soup dinner at Dongdaemun
Day 4 (Mon)	1. Autumn colours view at Seoul Olympic Park	1. Yeouido Hangang park visit. You are able to view the colourful flowers in the park and the 63 building which is among the tallest building in Seoul.		1. Beef soup dinner near Seoul station. 2. Visit Seoul station Lotte Mart. This is a large Lotte Mart. 3. Night view of Cheonggyecheon river stream. 4. Late night supper of traditional Korean delicacy of haemul pajeon and makgeolli.
Day 5 (Tue)	1. Unique Trick Eye museum in Hongik University area.	1. Tried the banana milk drink. 2. National Museum of Korea visit. Many ceramics on display.		1. Visit COEX shopping mall. I don't recommend to visit this shopping mall as product are mostly high end. 2. Dinner of bibimbap at COEX Mall. 3. Check out the media poles at Gangnam area.
Day 6 (Wed)	1. Spicy pork stew breakfast.	1. Visit antique street of Insadong.	1. Visit Namdaemun market. Snacking at Namdaemun market.	1. heading to dongguk station to view Rainbow bridge fountain. This musical water fountain performance only available during autumn. 2. Tried Tteokbokki during supper.
Day 7 (Thur)	1. Going back home from Incheon airport to Kuala Lumpur via Malaysia Airlines flight.

Turkish coffee making demonstration @ Istanbul, Turkey

Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi is a famous Turkish coffee shop in Turkey. I visited their outlet in Spice Bazaar and you can see the long queue of people just to buy their coffee. Since I am not a coffee drinker, I just brought a small packet for myself to try. In order to make Turkish coffee, you need a good ground coffee powder. Then you will also need a cezve which is a small pot with long handle to heat the coffee over charcoal. Below I have snap the sequence process of making Turkish coffee and also to show how does Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi coffee shop look like.


Small pot with a long handle. Known as "Cezve" in Turkey.

Start the Turkish coffee making by mixing water and ground Turkish coffee powder.

The mixture of coffee powder and water were heated over low heat. Keep stirring the mixture.

The staff at the restaurant demonstrates the Turkish coffee making process.

My cup of strong Turkish coffee. Do notice of the foam on the coffee. Strong taste and fragrant. Never stir the coffee once it's in the cup. Make sure that you sip it gently so as not to disturb the grounds.

Long queue to buy Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi coffee in Spice Bazaar Istanbul.

Packaging of coffee were done by hand at Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi shop.

Pillow packets of Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi coffee in many sizes.

Cekilmis Kahve(pricing of Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi coffee by weight). Famous Turkish coffee of Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi. Do try out their coffee when you visit Istanbul.

GPS/Coordinate: 41.016587, 28.970092
Address: Tahtakale Mh. 34116 Fatih/İstanbul, Turkey. The shop is located in Spicy bazaar. Walk towards the Yeni Cami Mosque (New Mosque/Valide Sultan Mosque).
Public transport: Istanbul Eminonu tram station.

Prince William Sound Cruise via 26 Glacier Cruise by Phillips Cruises @ Whittier, Alaska

I visited Prince William Sound during September 2014 to view the spectacular glaciers formation. The timing however is not so good as it was among the wettest month in Alaska. But I don't have much choice since I came here on the extension from a business trip. I visited Prince William Sound via 26 Glacier Cruises tour package from Phillips Cruises. The journey start at 9.30am from Anchorage and return to Anchorage at 7.00pm on the same day. The cruise will departs at 12.30pm and ended at 5.30pm. Yes, the whole cruise is 6 hours long. During the whole 5 hours, its just around 2 hours you will get to see beautiful glaciers. The rest of the time is used for travelling. Since I will travel from Anchorage, I book their transport as well.

The timeline of the journey as below:
9.30am : Departed from Captain Cook Hotel located at 5th Avenue in Anchorage. You will board the Magic Bus.
10.30am : Arrived Gridwood for short break.
11.00am : Enter the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. The tunnel is 4.1 kilometres and it is longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America. Do take note that this is a single lane tunnel. The one-way tunnel operates on a schedule to allow traffic to pass. If you missed the time, you will have to wait for another hour.
11.30am : Arrived Whittier.
12.00pm : Since there is still time before the cruise check in time, the bus tour guide drive us around Whittier which can be visited in less than 30 minutes. The village is so small that the population is only around 200-250 persons. Most of the population resides in one huge apartment building.
12.30pm : Board the cruise ship to start the glacier tour.
5.30pm : Reached Whittier.
7.00pm : Reached Anchorage.

Do bring jacket for this tour as weather in Alaska is very unpredictable and temperature does drop significantly when the boat approaching glacier. It was raining and cold during my cruise day but this does not hinder me from having good photos. This is the only cruise company which offer Prince William Sound glacier tour up to end of September. Most of the tour companies ended their glacier tour at mid September. Besides glacier, you will also see specular mountain views and the ranger narration onboard does give great insight about the area and direction on what to look out for.

Rating:9/10(I satisfied with the tour although it was raining half of the journey. The captain trying his best to bring us to the best glacier view and not going to the smaller glaciers. Although it was advertised as 26 glaciers cruise but you don't get to see them all. I think I only seen about 6-7 if I not mistaken).


Travelling from Anchorage to Whittier via Magic Bus. Depart from Captain Cook hotel.

The weather is not so good during the day of the tour. Cloudy skies.

Beautiful scenic views at Turnagain Arm and Cook inlet.

Scenic Turnagain Arm with mountains slope towards the sea.

Very cloudy day with rain noticed at far mountains side.

Non stop continuous mountains view. The Alaska Railroad Corporation track located beside the main highway.

Dangerous mudflats.

Stop by Gridwood for toilet break. Tourist trap souvenir shop.

Deer head replica in the tourist souvenir shop.

Typical tourist souvenir shop selling clothing with word "Alaska" imprint.

Continuing the journey to Whittier.

The last part of journey to Whittier. There is schedule that we need to follow to enter this Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. This is a one way tunnel and only allow one direction to pass by the tunnel each hour. Once you missed the time, you will have to wait for another hour to go back to the other side. This is the only road/land transport available to reach Whittier.

Inside the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel also known as Whittier tunnel. Its dark and vehicle travelled on top of railroad. Interior is exposed rock.

Approaching the end of the tunnel.

Begich Towers. More than half the population of Whittier stays in this building. Inside there is school, police station, hospital, grocery store and apartments. It is truly a city under one roof. The population in Whittier is very low. The harsh weather with high rainfall, cold and limited access have contributed to the low population.

Reindeer in cage near the huge building.

26 Glacier Cruise by Phillips Cruises

Boarding the huge catamaran Klondike Express.

Boarding pass and seat map. The ship was half empty when I boarded the ship.

The view inside the ship. Its a huge catamaran. Comfortable ride, stable and not much people getting seasickness.


The tour come with one lunch. I choose the Alaskan Amber beer battered cod fish served atop Alaska Chip Company potato chips with freshly prepared coleslaw. The meal was good and the coleslaw were tasty. The fish were delicious. I would give 8/10 rating for this fish and chips. There are other lunch options such as white meat chicken strips with chips, teriyaki bowl with tofu, vegetables and brown rice served with rice pudding and all beef hot dog which were their kids meal.

Travelling on the ship.

First sight of glacier flowing downwards. You can see how cloudy it was on that day.

Glaciers will illuminates in blue when skies are cloudy and dark.

Beautiful large glaciers.



Approaching glaciers on icy water.

Mint chocolate Polar Bear Smooch given.

Map on the display screen showing the current location and orientation.

Ice on dark water.

Water flow from mountains.

Me enjoying the cold weather. Its rainy and wet day.


Harriman glacier.

Me with Harriman glacier. Fortunately my leather jacket have extra layer of wool inside and I am wearing a layer of thermal wear. Else its freezing cold.

The thin flow of waterfalls looks very beautiful on foggy weather.

Another selfie with icy water.

Very cold day. The temperature maybe around -5 C.

Loud thunder sound when glacier broke.

Large chunk of glacier flowing down.

Large piece of ice broke away from the huge glacier.

Blue colour of glacier.

The glacier is like blue crystal. Glacial ice is not just frozen compacted snow. There are other things in the ice that make it much different from the ice in your home. Glaciers move through rock and soil as they carve their way down a slope. This means the ice is going to have a lot more ingredients than just water.

At almost the end of the glacier tour, we were served freshly baked hot chocolate cookie. Its delicious. I would give 9/10 for the cookie.

Shop selling drinks, snacks and souvenirs on board the ship.

Approaching Whittier.

Buckner Building are the huge famous abandoned government building at the back. It was constructed by the military in 1953 as a combined mess hall, sleeping quarters, recreational, medical and administrative facility and was formerly one of the largest buildings in Alaska.

Port of Whittier.

Back to the bus heading back to Anchorage. Hope you have a good read here covering from beginning of the trip until the end of the day.

GPS/Coordinate: 60.777668, -148.697239
Address: Phillips Cruises and Tours, W Camp Rd, Whittier, AK 99693
Fees: 26 Glacier cruise ticket price at USD149.00. There is tax and fees at USD19.95. If you need return transport from Anchorage to Whittier, please add another USD55.00. The total sums up to be USD223.95 for one adult).
Website: http://www.phillipscruises.com/