2024 - 'Revenge Travel' Continues

2024 was a continuation of 'revenge travel' from the year before. I needed to restore hope after the pandemic destroyed my travel hopes and dreams for about 3 years from 2020 till 2023.

Here's a lookback at my travels in 2024.

February - Travelled to Taipei

The main purpose of my trip to Taipei was to visit a fellow traveler whom I had met when I was travelling in Tunis in December 2023. He had relocated temporarily to Taipei and I took the opportunity to visit Taipei too.

The highlight of that trip was hiking at Yangmingshan National Park.

Interestingly, I visited Taipei again in May when I was on a long transit back from Kagoshima.

I love this colourful piece of art becomes life at the Taoyuan International Airport.

April - Travelled to Central Asia

I made this trip simply because AirAsia had launched a new route between Kuala Lumpur and Almaty, and there were promotional tickets. 

Since I was going to be in that part of the world, I took the opportunity to visit 3 more countries in Central Asia, i.e. Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. 

All in all, I covered 5 cities in 4 different countries. The cities were Almaty, Dushanbe, Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bishkek.

If you have the opportunity to visit Samarkand, don't miss the Registan Square. Begin your visit around 7:00pm and end with the light and sound show which begins at 8:00pm daily.

May - Travelled to Kagoshima

This was an unplanned trip. 

Earlier in February, I had reconnected with a former college mate after more than 20 years! And whilst talking, he invited me to join him to visit Kagoshima. 

Highlights of the trip was taking the ferry to Sakurajima, watched a dolphin show at Kagoshima City Aquarium, and made a road trip to Kirishima Geopark where we hiked to Mt Karakuni. 

I was pleasantly surprise to discover that Kagoshima was St Francis Xavier's landing spot when he brought Christianity to Japan. 

The Japanese Yen had depreciated against the Malaysian Ringgit, so I took the opportunity to purchase apparels from Muji and Uniqlo because it's cheaper in the home land. As a foreign tourist, I get to shop tax free with min purchase of JPY5,000. Just flash your passport and you'll get the discount on the spot! No need to hassle and redeem the discounts at the airport.

We hiked to the summit of Mt Karakuni (1,700 metres) and saw craters which used to be active volcanoes. Some of the craters were active and I could hear rumblings from the belly of the earth.

June - Travelled to Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB)

I purposely made this trip to BSB so that I can add another country to my List of Countries that I've Visited.

Two highlights of the trip were attending Mass at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and visiting Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. 

There's nothing much to see and do in BSB (which explains why I've never had a desire to visit Brunei) so we went to a mall to watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga which I found difficult to like especially after the genius of Mad Max: Fury Road.

Inside the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque.

September - Travelled to Colombo

In about two days we covered the main sights in Colombo such as St Anthony's Shrine, Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, and Gangaramaya Temple. 

On the third day, we hired a car and a driver to visit Sigiriya Fortress and Dambulla Cave Temple. Initially we wanted to join a local tour to those places, but Sri Lanka does not have group tours like other countries. So we had no choice but to pay for a car and a driver which were relatively expensive.

I was eager to visit Kandy but we only had a limited number of days for this trip. But now I have an excuse to revisit Sri Lanka.

It was a public holiday in Sri Lanka when we visited Sigiriya Fortress and the locals were out and about. The crowd was so big that we ditched the idea of climbing to the top of the fortress.

October - Travelled to Penang for a pilgrimage

This is the second consecutive year that Samaritan Hope Home organised a pilgrimage for its volunteers and benefactors. 

On this pilgrimage we visited the Penang Diocesan Museum in Georgetown, College General in Tanjung Bungah and the Minor Basilica of St Anne in Bukit Mertajam. 

The Minor Basilica of St Anne in Bukit Mertajam was one of the places we visited.

November - Travelled to Maldives

The highlight of my trip to Maldives was a day trip where we visited a sand bank in the middle of the sea, stopped for lunch at Himmafushi, and went snorkeling to look for stingray. 

Along the way, we spotted a pod of dolphins which got everyone on the boat excited. Who doesn't love dolphins. 

Artificial Beach in Male. When I posted this pic in Instagram, someone asked why do they need to create an artificial beach when Maldives already have natural beaches.

December - Travelled to Langkawi for a wedding

This is the first destination wedding that I've attended. 

It was held at The Danna Langkawi which was a great experience albeit the rates. After discount, a basic room was RM1,300.00 per night for 2 pax with breakfast. 

Looking ahead

In conclusion, I visited 8 new countries in 2024, and made a second visit to Japan (last visit was in June 2017).

How many new countries will I visit in 2025? I better start planning now. 

Cheap meal in Colombo

During my trip to Colombo, Sri Lanka in September, I enjoyed one of the cheapest meals.

It consists of steamed white rice, two types of vegetables, a hard boiled egg, and a generous portion of dhal curry. 

We even asked for a second helping of dhal curry which the eatery gave us generously.

All this for LDR 300.

When I converted LDR300 into my local currency it was a steal. 

The taste was quite good and I finished the whole plate. It was a lot of carbs but provided sufficient energy for all the walking done on that day.

Review on Uncle Roger's Fried Rice

A couple of Mondays ago, I left work on time and decided to drop by the Fuiyoh! It's Uncle Roger outlet at Pavilion Bukit Bintang mall to try his infamous fried rice.

There was a queue in front of the outlet, comprising of working crowd in the area who had got off work, as well as tourists. Thankfully, the patrons inside the restaurant finished their meal fast and I was seated within 20 minutes.

The menu had limited choices of food. Apart from a few types of fried rice and side dishes, there was nothing else. I was disappointed.

In the end, I ordered the UR's Special Fry Rice with Crispy Sunny Side Up that looks like this:

It costs RM27.85 for this plate of fried rice, which in my opinion is totally not worth the money.

The fried rice was quite dry to my liking, and the taste was average if eaten on its own. What gave the rice a taste boost was the accompanying sambal which was served in a soy sauce plate.

The portion was small. If I'm playing almost RM30.00 for a plate of fried rice which had to depend on sambal to save it, it better well be a bigger portion. However, that was not the case. Hungry patrons or big eaters would need at least two portions to fill their bellies.

The couple at the table beside me shared a tiny plate of fried rice, so I assumed they were there just to try the fried rice and see what the hype is all about. 

For me, it would certainly be a long time till I patronize the outlet again.