Minangkabau building architecture. Padang is the capital of West Sumatra Province of Indonesia  and it is located along the shores of the Indian Ocean coastlines.The town suffered a major earthquake back in 2009 as it lies on the active fault lines in the Indian...

Makassar Waterfront  @ Pantai Lestari It was a long eight hour bus ride that had taken me from Tanah Toraja to the city of Makassar, driven through mountain passes and villages along the journey. I arrived at the  designated bus station which was about ten kilometres...

"Londa" Tomb, Tana Toraja I decided to make a few days stop in Makassar as it was on the flight path back to Kuala Lumpur . After sorting out my luggage I wandered around the airport aimlessly before befriending a student. I asked him if there were any interesting...

Pulau Mansinam ( Mansinam Island )  Manokwari is just a forty-five minute flight from  Sorong. As like in Sorong, when the aircraft starts it's descent for landing one could view the clear island turquoise water that separates from the ocean blue waters. An awesome...

 Town of Sorong, Papua Barat ( West Papua) I was a bit excited knowing that I would be sent back to Papua New Guinea but I got the information  a bit wrong. Papua, yes but Papua Barat, a province in the Indonesian side of the Papua Island. The towns that I would be on...

Vanimo, Papua New Guinea. After receiving an offer from a friend that he wanted me to assist him in his business in Papua New Guinea,  I  googled basic information from the internet about the towns in Papua New Guinea. Port Moresby looks interesting, nice seafood. Lae...

The old Colombo Airport. As with any trips of mine I would make sure that I plan to visit someplace or indulge in any activities that would make my trip a memorable and an enjoyable one. This trip to Sri Lanka was based on two  - swimming with the whales and a visit...

Pettah market trader . There is a saying ' leave when you are winning' but I did not adhere to it and still continued to push my luck and I won though. The frequency of patronizing the casino took its toll as I just got up at midday. Refreshed myself and had a quick...

Fishmonger @ Matara market. The after effects of partying with people half your age takes a heavy toll on the body and the mind especially the morning after. Luckily the owner of the guesthouse I was staying in did not give up on knocking on my door, sort of a wake-up...

Mirissa Beach I could not sleep the previous night as I kept on thinking of my cancelled swimming with the whales programme - in abeyance, postponed, called off etc etc etc. The thought of touching the whales were only in the imaginative mode. Shoot !!! But after...

The Mount Lavina Hotel, Colombo. Had an early morning as I had a train to Mantara from the Colombo 'Fort' railway station. As I was served breakfast the owner of the boarding house mentioned that I could take the train from the Mount Lavina railway station to Mantara...

Sri Lankan Parliament Building, Colombo. Why Sri Lanka? The main reason?  I was offered a "ZERO" points ticket by Air Asia BIG loyalty program despite having enough "BIG" points for the normal flight ticket. Cheap traveller ? Nah! Just getting the best of the deals...