A visit to Melbourne in the midst of pandemic

We had made the full payment for the flight tickets and accommodation few months ago. The plan was to have a week holiday in Melbourne during the short-term school break. So we packed and went ahead. A week before our flight, Covid-19 cases in our country was getting more and more but still manageable at the low number of cases. The same applied to the Australia’s. We touched down Melbourne on 15 Mar. We were lucky as Australian government imposed travel ban on the following day. Few days later, Malaysian government imposed movement control order (MCO), and ban on traveling (we were lucky again,?). Then Australian government closed all borders. That’s where panic set in as our returning flight has been cancelled. With some help, we managed to secure our return flight on Sunday, 22 Mar (the last flight before total suspension of international flight by AAX). During our stay in Melbourne, we were blessed with good weather, safe journey and exciting trip, aside on one evening where the parents tried to reschedule the returning flight. Overall, it was a good trip. And now the family is under self-quarantine for 2 weeks, coincidently with MCO extended until 14 April.

It was extremely quiet in KLIA2.

Morning ray of Australia’s sky

View from Avalon Airport

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Kaoshiung

I haven't finished recounting my journey in Sweden and Japan; I returned from Taiwan just two weeks ago. Here's a brief account of my recent visit there (although I still have unfinished tale from last year trip to Taiwan). My first stop was Kaoshiung. Spent a day and a half in the town, then I travelled to Tainan for a weekend symposium. I ended my journey in Taipei for another short hike. The weather in Kaohsiung was quite hot, comparatively. It's not my favorite weather for traveling. Perhaps I arrived there too early; had I come a few days later, the temperature would have been cooler. Since day time was hot, it would be wise to visit Pier 2 area during evening or night. Not many people / tourists in this town. It looked quiet. The next day, I took a ferry to Cijin. The ride was short, about 5 minutes. Cijin Island is a fisherman's village. On the opposite side of the island, there's a beach. It was serene but scorching, to the extent that I couldn't walk m

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

Just came back from Japan last week. Went to Tokyo for conference and added side trip to Tateyama Alpine Route and Kanazawa. I must say that Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route was great. You can do the trip either from Nagano side or Toyama side. For us, we did it from the Nagano side. Took the Shinkansen to Nagano early morning. Then boarded the express bus to Ogizawa. From there, we boarded the tunnel electric bus to get to Kurobe Dam. From the dam, it was all the way up to the peak (almost). Murodo is the highlight of the route. This is the place where you get to see snow covered peak and lake. In spring, there's snow wall nearby Murodo station. From Murodo, we descended to Bijodaira and Tateyama Station to catch the local train back to Toyama. The fare for the entire route is not cheap, but it's worth it. A hike from Bijodaira to Murodo should be interesting, which can be considered in future. View from the tunnel electric bus, onward to Kurobe Dam Arrived at Kurobe Dam View of t

Hsinhua Forest Station, Tainan

Spent two nights at Hsinhua Forest Station after visiting Kaoshiung, in conjunction with the academic symposium. With an abundance of forest trees and greenery, this site is perfect for hiking and relaxation. Went on a short hike in the morning. Some sections of the forest need better upkeep though. Here are some photos of the area and plants. Photos were shot with iPhone 11

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