Yorkshire's Winter Wonders

It is winter time again in the UK soon or perhaps it is already starting now. One thing I can remember while in the UK was the coldness that would last until February or March. So even if you go there after Christmas, you can still catch up with the winter season.

My partner and I woke up one snowy day in the middle month of February. Though it was snowing most of the time, that morning was really different. With our boots on, we decided to go out for a walk in the woods.

I can't believed that I made my first snow person.

Me in the winter wonderland. It felt really cold.

Look closely. The entire forest turned all white and the snow keeps on pouring as we continued our walk.

Yaay! We reached the top!

Time for some snowball fight!

On our way back, we saw a lot of people (mostly kids) playing in the snow with their sledges. They even let us borrowed one. Yes, that was my first sledgy ride too.

Getting ready for my next slide of a lifetime

I was so amazed with what we did on that day. Truly, one of a kind nature wonders!

Why A Life Less Ordinary?

Ever wonder why my  blog is entitled: A Life Less Ordinary? What does this mean to you? In real life scenario, there's not much difference between one person's life to the other. From the day we were born, we grow up, go to school, make friends, fall in love, get married, have children, get old then we die. An endless and self-defeating pursuit.

When I was still a child, I've always dreamed of going to different places and meet different people. I have this vision that I can achieve what I want in life and at the same time share my experiences to others and hoping that somehow I can also inspire them. I want to have a life that's beyond the ordinary...

WOW! Castle Howard

the South front and the Atlas fountain

Just a short drive from York City, you can find one of UK's most beautiful Castle where the Howard family lived for over 300 years.

the Carlisle Memorial Column completed in 1870

The Carlisle memorial column in the background just outside the entrance gate to the castle.

at the Rose garden

After we got our entrance tickets which we payed £12.50 each (adult price), we visited the Rose garden first and explored the grounds. During that time, they are still renovating the garden and the flowers just started to bloom after a snowy winter. We were amongst the first visitors of the House last March 2010.

the best steak ever

After hours of walking around the garden and exploring the grounds, we had our lunch in one of their cafes. We ordered a very sumptuous steak served with potatoes and vegetables and a very yummy home made cheesecake. After lunch, we continued our tour inside the castle.

We saw a lot of huge paintings of the Howards when we entered the house. Guides are also provided for all visitors so you can easily ask them about anything especially on how the Howard family lived before. The rooms inside were all spacious. They still preserved most of the things and furnitures that the family used years ago. The turquoise drawing room is one of my favorites inside the house.

the drawing room

the crimson dining room

the Castle's huge library along the hallways

Our last stop inside the house was at the family chapel which was in used by the Howards between 1870 to 1875.

To find out more about visiting the House, go to http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/

Once Upon a Time in London

at Picadilly

This is kinda late post but I just want to share my one of a kind experience while I was in London.

Of all the cities that I want to see, London is number 1 in my list. When I think of  London before, I can just imagine beautiful castles like those featured in the movies, the amazing Big Ben, great scientist and discoverers, old songs that remained incomparable and many others.


I never knew that I will be given a chance to see this beautiful city and I'm fortunate to have believed in my dreams.


We arrived in London Heathrow airport from Kuala Lumpur at almost five in the afternoon (London time, January of 2010). It was still winter that time so the place was cold and wet as expected. We had dinner and stayed in one of our friend's house in the West part of London (sorry I forgot the name of the town) on that night. 


The next day, through the help of our friend, we headed back to London and started our day by depositing our luggages near King's Cross station so we can have a walk around London City centre. Then my partner asked me where I want to go first. In no doubt I answered: "I want to see the Big Ben!" So we headed to the underground train station or what Londoners referred as "the tube". I guess we took 2 trains just to go to where the Big Ben is. 

a dream come true indeed! It's the Big Ben!

Also took a photo with the London eye in the background

I was in awe but mixed emotions in reality when I stood and look up at the magnificent clock tower. My partner and I were there just in time when the clock hands strike at 12 noon and then it sounded gracefully. It was truly amazing! We continued our walk down to the Westminster City. We also went to London Chinatown. (Yup!, there is always Chinatown anywhere). A stop in one of the Filipino supermarkets near Earl's court was also worth the walk. We also bought some Chinese soup in powder that we both like. We jumped back to the tube after lunch and went straight to where else but in Harrods Knightsbridge for some jam shopping. I also had a photo taken at Piccadilly- a popular road since medieval times that has inspired several works of fiction.

'Til I see you again London! Cheers!

at Chinatown London

After lunch near Earl's Court with the iconic double decker bus behind me

Mini shopping at Harrods 

Sentosa Singapore Adventure

Welcome to Sentosa

On board Sentosa express, we headed to Sentosa island one sunny morning during our stay in Singapore. It was actually in our original plan to visit Sentosa the first time we visited Singapore together so I was all excited as I heard a lot of stories about the island like how it served as a British military fortress during the world war II.

We started our island adventure by visiting  The Images of Singapore museum which exhibits the history and culture of Singapore. We were entertained by how they presented the past events and festivities in Singapore as we walked around.

a multi-media presentation about the first people in Singapore

Our next stop was the Segway plus the Luge and Skyride. All the rides were very exciting so we always waited in line just to try all of them. 

my first Segway ride

after our Skyride

Aside from the rides, there are other things that you can do while in Sentosa as they offer a lot of outdoor activities. You can also head to the beach side if you'd like to or relax and pamper yourself in one of their luxurious spas. 

Langkawi- truly a Jewel of Kedah

One of the best island to go in Malaysia is Langkawi. And the one thing that we liked about Langkawi? hmmm... watching the sunset every afternoon. Our favorite place to go to watch not just the sunset but also those planes flying in and out of the island is at Pantai Cenang beach.

During our one week stay, we chose to rent a motorbike or moped so it is easier for us to travel around the island and stop at any where we want to. We also tried different eating places everyday for variety and we found two wonderful shops to dine. One of them is the Artisans Pizza for pizza of course, ginger tea and they also serve a very nice breakfast. Our favorite dinner place is named Orkid Ria. They are both located in Pantai Cenang.

We also enjoyed the road trip to Gunung Raya, the Underwater World and when we took the cable car ride or what they call as sky cab to reached the air bridge at the top of Mt. Machinchang. We also experienced another segway ride like what we did in Singapore at the Oriental Village.

sunset at Pantai Cenang

 at Underwater World Langkawi

at the Air bridge

a sumptuous dinner at Orkid Ria..just one of them nights!

the breathtaking view of the islands from the air bridge..705 meters above sea level

Visit Taman Buaya or Crocodile farm and watch the Crocodile show

Four Seasons Langkawi..a paradise!

Have you been to Langkawi? Share your amazing story below.

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Melaka-one great historical place

Jonker's street at night

Melaka- a UNESCO world heritage site is one of the historic cities of the Straits of Malacca with the influences of both Europe and Asia. A visit there was an escape to the modern world as the beautiful city survived from the 15th century.


I've been to few places and cities in the South East but nothing compares to Melaka because of how they preserved the place until now. Unlike most travel destinations where you can only see tall buildings/skyscrapers, busy and crowded streets. In Melaka, the atmosphere was very different especially when you set foot to what I call 'red city' (all buildings are painted red), you would really feel like you are not in Asia anymore. The influences of the early occupants like the Dutch and the Portuguese are still all over the place. The ruins of the roofless St. Paul church and the A Famosa (the fortress) which known to be the oldest surviving European architectural remains in Asia are just two of the iconic tourist destinations that you should include in your itinerary.


What we've enjoyed most in Melaka was walking around at the night market at Jonkers Street and eventually stopped by at 'uncles' (just made up the name too) for dinner. Ah! another thing I would never forget was the yummy and freshly baked Melaka tart which is also a must try!

the Maritime musuem- a Galleon replica 

 at Jonker's street 

the roofless church at Bukit St. Paul

A Famosa (fortress)

the view of Melaka with the Menara Taming Sari tower and the Eye on Malaysia
in the background

the historic Melaka river with the Maritime Museum behind

Behind me is what I call the 'red city'

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Petronas Twin Towers up close

the boldness of the Petronas towers at night!

After our holiday in Melaka, we went straight to Kuala Lumpur. 'Twas before Christmas of 2009 when I first stepped in to the capital city of Malaysia. When one would say Kuala Lumpur, all I could think of are the mighty Petronas Twin towers which I know for a fact that it's one of the tallest buildings in the world.

When we were in KL, we stayed in Crowne Plaza Mutiara located in central KL. It's near the convention center and it has a foot bridge that's connected to one of the Pavilion' entrance- a shopping district. The Suria KLCC (photo above), a retail center at the feet of Petronas is only three minutes walk from our hotel. We can even see the towers from the hotel's pool area. You can also have a better view of the buildings from the KLCC park. I can imagine myself sitting in the park all day just looking at those magnificent towers.

We're able to witness how the towers transformed from being classic and mighty during the day and bold during the night.

Discounted hotel rates in Kuala Lumpur? Check out Agoda

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