icyjo24's VirtualTourist Home Page

Adventure, travel and travel photography are my greatest passions. I have been crazy about travelling since I was a kid but its only during the past few years when I really have the opportunities to travel. From the commercial tour packages and school fieldtrips during my school days, I switched to become a free and easy traveller who enjoys venturing out on budget backpacking trips, either solo or in pairs. Book the air tickets, do some research and thats it... decide on stuff along the way .. thats my current travelling style. My travels have so far been concentrated around Southeast Asia and a few countries beyond such as Australia and Hong Kong. I still have a long long way to go to complete my travels in Southeast Asia and I hope to venture out to more exotic destinations soon. Read more about my exciting travel adventures below and in my travel pages. Hope they will be useful for planning your trips. Will be adding more stuff when I have the time. Feel free to send me any comments.

Kathmandu and Tibet - 2 to 12 June 2007!!!!
Kathmandu-Kodari-Zhangmu-Nyalam-Tingri-Rongbuk-Everest Base Camp-Shigatse-Gyantse-Lhasa

Click here to view my Tibet Photos

Places visited in Northern Territory - 10 to 19 Dec 2006
Darwin; Alice Springs; King's Canyon; Uluru-Kata-Tjuta National Park (Ayers Rock, The Olgas); Mt Conner (pass by); Barrow Creek; Devil's Marbles; Banka Banka; Daly Waters; Elsey National Park (Mataranka Thermal Pool, Rainbow Springs); Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge, Edith Falls), Mary River National Park; Kakadu National Park (Ubirr, Maguk Falls, Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre)

~ Travel Route - Cambodia and Thailand - 28 Nov to 15 Dec 2005 ~
Singapore - Phuket - Ko Phi Phi Le / Don - Ko Khai - Phuket - Phangnga Bay - Phuket - Khao Lak - Ko Similan - Khao Lak - Bangkok - Aranyaprathet - Poipet - Battambang - Siem Reap - Phnom Penh - Bangkok - Singapore

My Ko Similan, Ko Khai, Phangnga Bay pages are ready.. check them out....

3 more countries to go before I complete my travels in Southeast Asia....

Countries that I have left my footprints....


Tokyo, Japan ~ June 2009
Christmas Island, Australia ~ Dec 2008
United Kingdom - Nov to Dec 2008
Tibet, China - June 2007
Kathmandu, Nepal - June 2007
Northern Territory, Australia - December 2006
Sarawak, East Malaysia ~ Dec 2006
Western Australia - November 2004, December 2007
Hong Kong - December 1998
Indonesia - June 1996, May 2006
Peninsular Malaysia - Almost every year since 1993
East Malaysia - November 2007
Thailand - May to July 2001, December 2003, June 2005, Nov/Dec 2005, Feb 2007
Vietnam - December 1999, May 2006
Laos - June 2005
Cambodia - December 2005

I come across VT site while searching for information about Aussie in October 2004 for a 10-day Western Australian trip on 13 November 2004. In fact, thats how I joined VT and got to know and meet many travel freaks just like me through the various VT meets I have attended . My FIRST ever SOLO backpacking trip was a 17-day trip in Thailand and Laos in June 2005. I never thought I will ever dare to travel on my own until after I joined VT and got the immense inspiration to do so after hearing from fellow VT members. Since then, I have gone on another solo trip to Hanoi in Vietnam.

My 2 longest trips were both to Thailand, the first one for 9 weeks during my undergraduate days for research and exchange. The second one is a month-long trip in December 2003 for a Youth Expedition Project which is featured in my travelogue.

Being a geog freak is definitely a plus point for my travels. Geography is my passion since secondary school all the way to my university days til now. To me, it is more than just a subject in school as the idea of learning about interaction of people and the environment complements my dreams to travel around the world. Probably, you can guess what occupation I'm currently in at the moment :p....

Besides Geography, I also majored in Southeast Asian Studies which complements my travels in Southeast Asia, a region filled with diverse cultures. As learning a Southeast Asian Language is essential, I chose to learn the Thai Language, a tough one to pick up though, especially the writing system. However, I seem to enjoy learning Thai more than my own Chinese mother tongue. In fact, many people mistook me as a Thai when I was in Thailand and Cambodia. I even got to get into a Thai National Park paying the local rate haha....So far, I have been to Thailand several times on long trips and I must say I really love visiting this country...

Although I'm not a professional photographer, I love taking pictures of beautiful scenery, sunrise, sunsets, kids, traditional lifestyles or anything that has a story or meaning behind it. Finally, I bought a compact digital camera in March 2005 so I no longer need to ration my film or scan my pictures. But that also means that I can get so crazy snapping pictures that I actually took 200+ pictures just on the sunrise at Angkor Wat! Friends commented that I'm MAD... Before my recent trip in Nov 2005, I also invested in an underwater housing for my compact digital camera in 2005 to indulge in underwater photography. More recently, in October 2006, I decided to venture more into this hobby by getting a DSLR camera... a challenging but great camera to use.. check out some of the photos that I have taken ...

If I have the $$$ and time..... I would love to

~ Watch the Aurora Borealis in Canada or Scandinavia
~ Skydive in Australia or New Zealand
~ Fly on a hotair balloon in Australia or New Zealand
~ Scuba dive in Maldives and the Pacific Islands
~ Trek the Himalayan countries of Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet
~ Enjoy the autumn scenery of Jiuzhaigou
~ Visit the famous Inca ruins of Machu Picchu
~ Ride a camel across the Sahara Desert
~ Take the Trans-Siberia Railway across Russia
~ Backpack along the Silk Road
~ Visit the legendary Timbuktu in Mali
~ Ride a horse across the grasslands of Mongolia
~ Admire the beautiful geographical landforms of South Africa
~ Climb the mystical Mount Kilimanjaro
~ View the active volcanoes at work in Hawaii
~ Go national park hopping around USA
~ Catch beautiful sunrises and sunsets around the world

and the list goes on and on....

Indonesia
~ Getting lost from the group after going on a photo-taking frenzy in the magnificent Borobudur Temple in Yogyakarta during a school fieldtrip
~ Crossing a 2km long stream with water level from knee-to-neck level in a dark limestone cave in Yogyakarta
~ Climbing up the lower slopes of the active Mount Merapi volcano
~ Whitewater Rafting along the Teluja Waja Rapids in Bali
~ Climbing up the active Mount Batur Volcano in the darkness to see the sunrise
~ Dolphin watching off Lovina Beach in Bali

Malaysia
~ Cycling 40km to Sungei Rengit and back to S'pore
~ Indulging in seafood frenzies in Johor Bahru
~ First ever snorkelling trip of the beautiful underwater world in Pulau Redang
~ Catching a beautiful sunrise in Pulau Redang
~ Chasing storms in the Bukit Tarek Watershed in Peninsular Malaysia for my thesis research
~ Kayaking around the huge lake of Tasik Kenya
~ Getting stuck in Mersing after returning from Pulau Tioman as the bus tickets were sold out

Vietnam
~ Witnessing pickpockets at work in the chaotic Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)
~ Crossing a ridiculously chaotic roundabout road in HCMC
~ Eating large river snails in a seafood restaurant in HCMC
~ Eating rabbit meat without realising it.. yucks...in a restaurant in HCMC
~ Eating the grotesque steamed fertilized chicken egg at a roadside stall in Dalat.... still wonder how I ever manage to eat it!!!
~ Trying on an ao dai, the Vietnamese costume
~ Finding large beautiful seashells along the beach of Nha Trang, with a scenic view of the South China Sea
~ Kayaking around the islands of Halong Bay

Thailand
~ Staying in a hospital in Mae Hong Son for one night due to severe food poisoning
~ Stepping on Myanmar land from the village of Mae Aw
~ Living in a KMT village in Mae Aw
~ Visiting a Karen refugee camp 'illegally' in Nai Soy
~ Participating in a homestay and cultural exchange programme in Phitsanulok
~ Parasailing off the coast of the Gulf of Thailand
~ Riding the thrilling bananaboat and jetskiing at Koh Chang
~ Learning to cook Tom Yum Koong, my favourite, in Phitsanulok
~ Trekking along a leech-filled path to a waterfall in Doi Paka
~ Digging trenches and repairing water pipes in a Lahu Village in Northern Thailand
~ Teaching Lahu kids some basic English
~ Crossing the Death Railway and the Bridge over River Kwai
~ Speaking like a Thai to pay the local rate to enter the Doi Inthanon National Park
~ Taking the complicated public bus system in Bangkok
~ Avoiding the numerous sea urchins while snorkelling at the shallow waters of Koh Khai
~ Kayaking around the beautiful limestone islands in Phangnga Bay
~ Surviving the seasickness from the 4-hour choppy slow boatride to Koh Similan
~ Snorkelling over the beautiful tropical paradise of Koh Similan
~ Sighting two octopuses at Koh Similan
~ Taking the 6-hour crowded third-class train from Bangkok to Aranyaprathet

Laos
~ Cycling along the streets and scenic countryside of Luang Prabang
~ Sipping a cooling mango shake with a scenic view of the limestone cliffs along the Nam Song River in Vang Vieng
~ Kayaking along the rapids of the Nam Song River
~ Tubing in a limestone cave in Vang Vieng
~ Squeezing in an overcrowded local minibus from Vientiane to Friendship Bridge

Cambodia
~ Getting ripped off for visa at the corrupted Cambodian border at Poipet (Everybody gets ripped here! 1000 baht for a visa instead of USD20)
~ Taking a 3-hour share taxi with local Cambodians from Poipet to Battambang
~ Touring the rustic landmine-filled countryside of Battambang on a motorbike
~ Waking up at 4.30 am to catch the sunrise at the magnificent Angkor Wat
~ Watching an awesome sunset from Phnom Bakheng
~ Climbing the steep and narrow steps of temples of Angkor
~ Getting disgusted at the vandalism and headless statues at the temples of Angkor
~ Breathing the dust from the roads in Siem Reap
~ Surviving a bumpy tuk-tuk ride on the pothole-filled roads on the outskirts of Phnom Penh
~ Running across a super busy main road without traffic lights or crossings in Phnom Penh
~ Fending off the irritating touts in Phnom Penh

and many many more...

Australia
~ Abseiling along the beautiful sandstone cliffs of Kalbarri National Park
~ Sandboarding along high sand dunes near Cervantes
~ Swimming with a manta ray in Coral Bay
~ Feeding a friendly dolphin in Monkey Mia
~ Racing against time to catch a sunset at Eagle Bluff
~ Flying over the beautiful Ningaloo Reef
~ Chasing after stingrays in the beautiful turquoise waters of Turquoise Bay
~ Enjoying a thrilling helicopter ride over Katherine Gorge
~ Hiking King's Canyon in the extreme afternoon summer heat
~ Cathcing the sunrise near Uluru
~ Camping under shooting stars in Banka Banka

Hong Kong
~ My first free and easy trip after taking my 'A' Levels
~ Falling sick with a bad cold on the flight
~ Being unable to scream on an exhilarating ride in Ocean Park due to bad sore throat

Tibet
~ Suffering from altitude sickness for 2 days at Tingri and Rongbuk
~ Viewing the roof of the world-the Himalayas
~ Enjoying the view of Mt Everest or Mt Qomolangma(Tibetan name)
~ Experiencing snow for the first time at Everest Base Camp
~ Enjoying the view of Yamdrok Tso and Nam Tso - two heavenly lakes in Tibet
~ Getting hounded by beggars
~Enjoying a spectacular flight over the Himalayas from Lhasa to Kathmandu

'Khwaamsuk' means happiness in Thai. In December 2003, I spent almost a month in Northern Thailand, of which 3 weeks were spent in a Lahu village for a Youth Expedition Project(YEP) 'Khwaamsuk Experience 2', which is a community service and cultural exchange project. This is the most meaningful trip that I have been to so far. Do check out my travelogues if you are interested to know more about the Lahu people.