The top tourist attraction of every country

New year, new destinations to look forward to! So, what attractions separate one country from another? Which attraction is the top rated thing to do in every country? These are the questions that I have often asked myself. A good point of reference for me would be Tripadvisor due to the site’s unique crowd-sourced recommendations, collated by travellers from all over the world.

Thanks to the folks at vouchercloud, they have created a map of every country’s top rated ‘Thing to Do’ using the information gathered in Tripadvisor. Some of the top attractions are pretty much expected, e.g. Great Wall of China in China, the Taj Mahal of India and the Niagara Falls of Canada, while others like the Harry Potter Studio Tour of United Kingdom and the Waterbom Bali of Indonesia, are out in left-field. Notwithstanding, I think the map / top rated attraction in Tripadvisor is useful as a general guide to work out the basic itinerary when visiting a country for the first time. Personally, I have been to a number of these attractions, like the Sydney Harbour of Australia, Hoi An Ancient Town of Vietnam and the Gardens by the Bay of Singapore, and I would love to see the rest of them one day.

-W/T

Ruby’s experience hiking Mt Rinjani, Lombok (plus tips!)

Based in Singapore, Ruby Tan is freelance writer and blogger (at Ruby Tan Work).

After climbing Mt Rinjani on Lombok, Indonesia from 11 to 14 September 2016, Ruby wrote a guide on her experience offering information on the difficult parts of the climb, the beautiful sections of the hike, what to bring, the company she went with, the toilet business, rubbish on the hike, and more! She had also shared a couple of tips for the hike that she  didn’t find on other sites.

Selamat Tinggal Lombok

A couple of months ago, I had to leave the island of Lombok in Indonesia as my work there had come to an end. In the past one year, I have grown very fond of this beautiful island; there is something special about the place – the charm of the people and surroundings make it more than just being a laid back, idyllic island.

Traditional fishing boat known locally as perahu lounges on Senggigi beach at sunset. The perahu can be easily identified due to their outriggers – two lengths of extra large bamboo sealed at either end and attached by timber outrigger bars on both sides of the boat. They can be chartered from the beachfront for trips along the coast or out to the Gili Islands.

The land beneath the wind

I do have to apologise to anyone following this site for the lack of updates (and for not concluding the travelogue that I have started on my not-so-recent trip to Europe).

My (enforced) absence was mainly due to my recent move from the island of Lombok in Indonesia to Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of the Malaysia’s state of Sabah in the island of Borneo. As with any relocation, there are a number of logistics matters (particularly, logistic failings) that I had to attend to. Despite the initial hiccups, I am glad that things are falling in place gradually.

So, do be patient with my updates and in the meantime, enjoy this lovely sunset taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

P/S: The title, “the land beneath the wind”, is a phrase used by seafarers in the past to describe Sabah. Sabah, the easternmost state of Malaysia, lies just south of the typhoon belt (hence, beneath the wind).

The great gig in the sky

I had been flying to and fro Lombok several times in the last month. Very often, I would be able to spot Mt Agung (Bali) and Mt Rinjani (Lombok) as the plane is about to reach its destination (Lombok International Airport). These two landmarks are always a welcoming sight as they seem to shout out to me and remind me that I’m about to reach my current home. On a few rare occasions, the welcoming party is replaced by the three Gilis instead.