Amazing100: Sep 27, 2010

Monday, September 27, 2010

Day 13 : arriving in the paradise (Maldives)

Finally arriving in Maldives. Got picked up by Maldives Conrad staff and transfered to the private lounge waiting for the next water plane to fly to the resort. Even though it was only a short 25 mins flight, I found the view was amazing. We flew over Male (Capital of Maldives) and it looks like an island full of lego brick houses full of colors. On the way, we also flew over many reef and resort islands.

Personal Travel Highlights

o Avid traveler who is smart, creative, adventurous with a passion in international travel and travel planning.

o Traveled extensively to over 150 cities in 40 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and North America.

o During the past 34 months since January, 2008,
- I was on over 150 flights (on average 1.1 flights per week);
- I traveled over 300,000 miles (or 482,803km) which is equivalent to flying around the globe 12 times;
- I stayed in various luxurious hotels for >300 nights (on average 2 nights per week)

o Attended universities in North America (Toronto), Europe (Oslo) and Asia (Hong Kong).

o My Top 10 Coolest Travel / Vacation Moment:
1. Currently, I am in the middle of a 100-day self-planned once-in-a-life-time travel extravaganza to Maldives, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Fiji, India, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, which is packed with some amazing activities.

2. Climbed up Ayres Rock (Uluru) in Australia. (Note: Ayres Rock is closed 80% of the time due to various reasons so it was a very rare opportunity to actually climb up the Ayres Rock.)

3. Snorkeling steps away from my water villa and dined at the world’s only under-sea restaurant at Conrad Maldives resort.

4. Zip trekking in the middle of the forest in Queenstown, New Zealand.

5. Took a helicopter to land on the top of Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand and hiked in the surrounding ice caves.

6. Enjoyed outdoor hot spring during heavy snow fall in Niseiko, Sapporo, Japan.

7. Floating on the Dead Sea in Israel with a brick on my abs while reading newspaper.

8. Being detained at the Belarus border because my visa expired by just 5 minutes which was caused by a train delay.

9. Took a 24-hour bus ride from Tallinn, Estonia back to Oslo, Norway & experienced the magnificent Northern Light inside the Arctic Circle in Norway.

10. Attracted turned-head attention from almost the whole town in Vilnius, Lithuania as one of the very few Asians ever visited the city right after strict travel restrictions were relaxed and 60 Polish School kids in a Warsaw hotel lined up outside my hotel room asking for my autograph thinking that I was Jacky Chan.