I Wander

Travel & Food, Itineraries & Guides, Hotel Reviews

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Discovering Singapore’s Outlying Islands

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all aboard!

… and I’m not talking about Sentosa here. What most people don’t realize is that Singapore isn’t just made up of just one island (or two, if you count Sentosa). Believe it or not, this tiny city-state is actually made up of 63 islands — most of them being uninhabited! I had the chance to check out some of these islands last year with friends and it showed me yet another side of Singapore that I hadn’t known previously despite living here for several years.

A short ferry ride from the Marina South Pier via Island Cruise (SGD 15, roundtrip, inclusive of stops) transports one from the hustle and bustle of an ultramodern city to tiny, mythical tropical islands lined with lush palm trees and some of the best beaches in Singapore. The ferry ride took us to three of the more well-known southern islands (aside from Sentosa). First stop was the larger St. John’s Island – a great getaway for those planning for a swim and/or a picnic.

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Exploring the UNESCO World Heritage Town of Luangprabang

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The 8-hour car ride from Vientiane was one of the bumpiest I’ve been in. The driver couldn’t speak English but seemed as if he was on a mad dash to see who could get to Luangprabang first. Our van literally jumped every few minutes as it also had to contend with the relatively poor state of the roads. We came ahead of many other buses and vans plying the same route – and ended up arriving in the town a good 2-3 hours earlier than most. Not too shabby, except that our driver kept at this speed despite the harrowing cliffs that were prevalent in the few hundred kilometer journey.

at luangprabang night market

Luangprabang was literally our first real destination in this trip. We took a short plane ride to KL, where we also spent the night. Next day, our flight to Vientiane got delayed because of an unexpected massive downpour – and we spent that night in Vientiane. So by default, we were on “transit” for 2 nights, albeit in different places.

I had high hopes for Luangprabang – given that it is a UNESCO World Heritage Town after all and I heard quite a lot of rave reviews about it, both from friends and from independent travel magazines. But after we had crossed into the city limits, it looked like any provincial town in Southeast Asia. The town is quite spread out, but the overwhelming majority of the attractions are actually situated in the main street called Sisavangvong Road….

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