The Most Awesome Trip Ever

This took place a few weeks ago, but I couldn't find the time to write until now.

2025 is a milestone year for me because I turned 50 in June.

I didn't want just my birthday month to be special, but to celebrate the entire year as a whole.

The first 5 months were already amazing, with events like La La Land In Concert, Adam Kay's This Is Going To Hurt, and my favourite musical of all time, The Phantom Of The Opera, not to mention meet and greets with Justin Hurwitz, Kay and Ben Forster. 

Iceland had been on my bucket list for quite a while, but I was always hesitant to go because of concerns about the weather and physical activity level.

The option to do an easy tour was available, but I felt that it would dilute the experience.

So in mid-2024, I took the plunge, booked an intense 7-day itinerary, and prepped by building up my stamina with various exercise routines.

The result: an epic, unforgettable week in the most gorgeous country I've ever seen, and the perfect setting for an important time of my life.

The trip had a rocky start.

On the morning of day 1, I followed the tour company's instruction to be at the pick-up location "by XX time", but the mini-bus didn't arrive until 45 minutes later.

And thanks to a strange policy about tour vehicles not being allowed to pick passengers up directly from hotels, I had to walk 10 minutes to an unsheltered bus-stop with my large suitcase and 2 bags.

This wouldn't have been problematic, except that morning, there was a hurricane-like wind whipping through Reykjavik at 45-50km/hr; and since I weigh less than 50kg, it almost blew me off my feet multiple times.

The 5 degrees Celsius temperature and wind chill factor added to the misery. Despite wearing appropriate attire, my teeth started to chatter and I seriously questioned my life choices haha.

Fortunately, an Indian man was at the same bus-stop waiting for another tour, so we struck up a conversation and kept each other company, even laughing at the absurdity of our situation.

Once that was over, the rest of the tour proceeded smoothly.

We had a full capacity of 18 travellers with an international mix ( USA, Australia, etc. ) mostly middle-aged to elderly, and a few going solo like me, including an American lady in her 70s.

It turned out to be a great group - friendly and caring, experienced and considerate.

Everyone kept to the tight time schedule and nobody made a fuss about anything.

Best of all, I clicked with a Malaysian-Chinese lady from Sydney - now we're friends on Facebook. :)

As for Iceland itself, words alone don't do it justice, but if you follow my social media accounts, you would've seen the spectacular photos and videos I posted.

I've travelled extensively for the past 25 years, including to countries with jaw-dropping scenery like New Zealand, Switzerland and Norway.

NZ was at the top of this list for 22 years before it was finally dethroned by Iceland.

Although it was technically the start of the summer season, daily temperatures remained at an average of 0-5 degrees Celsius.

I've never been a fan of cold weather so the first couple of days were a bit rough, but I soon acclimatized and that's when I really started to enjoy the tour.

The best way to describe Iceland is "NZ on steroids" haha.

The places I mentioned above share some similarities in terms of scenery ( majestic mountains and glaciers, gorgeous coasts, beautiful lakes ), but Icelandic nature is truly next level with an otherworldly quality.

The itinerary was also thoughtfully curated, with a distinct theme each day.

One focused on waterfalls, one had glaciers and the nearby glacier lagoon, another took us to volcanic craters, lava fields and geothermal parks.

I did a whale watching cruise and saw a whale surface just a few metres from our boat; I completed an epic 4-hour glacier hike ( so glad I trained hard for this! ); I saw wild puffins in their natural cliffside habitat ( bonus stop not on the itinerary! ); I hiked to the top of a dormant volcano, and got up close to adorable Icelandic horses at a farm.

I also enjoyed the 24-hour bright skies ( no sunset while I was there ) and wide variety of weather - aside from day 1's crazy winds, there was transient hale, snow and rain. 

When we passed through the northern region, we were surrounded by endless vistas of snow. 

It was magical. :)

The Icelandic people were also very welcoming, and the food was consistently above average to excellent, though pricey.

Best of all, tourist numbers are still much smaller compared to other nations.

The southern part had the most people, while other regions were pretty much deserted.

Coming from noisy and overcrowded Singapore, that was like heaven to me.

It didn't hit me at the time, but on hindsight, I would say that Iceland is now #1 on the list of places I've been to so far ( #2 Paris, #3 New York City ).

Will I go back one day? Very likely, and only during summer. 

I won't survive anything below zero degrees for sure. 

Conclusion:

Go to Iceland at least once in your life.

If you're fit enough, do all the physically demanding stuff which will greatly enrich the experience.

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The second leg of the trip was spent in Paris, with 2 days in Normandy.

I first visited France in 2010 - did a panoramic tour and completely fell in love with it.

I returned to Paris in 2017, and it is still my favourite city ( from a tourist's perspective of course ).

Paris was an absolute must for me for this milestone birthday, and suffice to say, my week spent there was marvelous.

Much has changed since 2017 - I noticed a lot more security and barricades at major landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur and Saint Chapelle.

Many places were also under construction - e.g. the Notre-Dame cathedral, where only the front facade was unobstructed.

This caused me great sadness because I remember back in 2010, I was able to take a leisurely 360-degree stroll around it to admire its incredible architecture.

But what struck me most were the horrendous crowds everywhere.

Compared to 8 years ago, the number of tourists has skyrocketed, though still tolerable compared to cities like Tokyo and Bangkok. ( Bangkok gave me nausea and headache. )

I'm glad that at least those in Paris have remained civil - no pushing / cutting queues / rudeness, even from the notorious PRCs.

The worst of it occurred at the Louvre, specifically in the room with the Mona Lisa.

I describe it as "controlled chaos" - I slowly oozed my way to the front, snapped a few quick photos then spent the rest of my time at other exhibits.

Overtourism has taken its toll on the Parisians, as evidenced by a strike by the Louvre's exhausted staff 2 days after my visit, and another by taxi drivers the day after my arrival.

( I feel immensely lucky to have escaped both. )

The government / authorities obviously aren't doing enough - no doubt because they're reaping billions from the influx - but it isn't just affecting the Parisians, but fellow tourists like me too.

One of the things I love most about travelling is interacting with the locals and soaking in their culture.

This is impossible when foreigners outnumber residents and entire cities become overcommercialized.

Normandy was similar, with small towns swarming with tour groups, and nothing but shops and restaurants in every direction.

I ended up shopping only at a bakery at Saint-Malo which sold unusual biscuits. Most of the other stores had almost identical souvenirs.

The 2-day tour had only 20 travellers, but everyone was very pleasant, and I especially enjoyed our overnight stay which included a group dinner.

I sat with a married couple from Brazil and a young ex-Marine from the U.S who was solo like me.

The former work at a company that manages Brazil's most popular YouTube pop culture channel, while the latter shared fascinating insights about how the U.S. military functions and its close relationship with Trump and the GOP.

Although the American didn't say outright that he's a Republican, based on his remarks, it was clear that he voted for Trump; and to his credit, he was very amused by our questions and comments about POTUS and his minions, giving us patient and diplomatic answers.

He was quite good-looking too, but sadly, we only spoke that one time and didn't exchange contact information. :)

Multiple friends have complained to me about their bad encounters in France.

While such incidents have been reported by many tourists, I personally have never had this problem.

In fact, the numerous wonderful and memorable interactions my mum and I had with the locals during our first trip in 2010 ( we went to lots of places outside Paris, including Nice, Provence, Avignon and Lyon ) were what made us love the French so much.

I remember an elderly Frenchman at a street market in Lyon who spoke minimal English and communicated with us through gestures.

He asked where we're from - when I said Singapore, he used his hands to draw the 3 towers of Marina Bay Sands hotel.

Upon recognizing the shape, I smiled and replied, "Casino!"

"Oui oui! Casino!" And the 3 of us laughed heartily.

Ahhh, j'aime la france! :)

Last but not least, I still find the French the most gorgeous people I've seen so far - another reason I keep going back haha.

But it isn't just good looks - they also possess what I call an old-world charm, especially in terms of manners.

As a solo traveller who took many long walks around Paris, I directly interacted with its residents on a regular basis ( these exclude shops, restaurants and hotels ).

At the Cimetière de Passy, I asked a handsome young Frenchman if he knew where Claude Debussy's grave is.

He didn't, but was delightfully apologetic about it, and wished me "good luck!" before we parted ways.

On another day, I spent time at the Seine, watching boats pass as I strolled along the bank.

Some of them had French schoolchildren on board, who waved and shouted "Bonjour!", and I gamely waved back.

At one of the public restrooms, I met a group of French schoolgirls ( aged around 9-10 ). I wasn't sure if they were queueing for the cubicles but they didn't understand English when I spoke to them. In the end, they giggled and politely moved to the side for me. 

Why can't kids in Singapore be like this??

Alas, it will be another 7-8 years before I return... sigh!

That's it for this entry.

Thanks for reading. :)

Holiday Musings - Part 1

It's been a hectic week back in Singapore, but I think a blog entry will help keep some of the nostalgia in check.

For the record, I miss France. Tremendously.
And yes, it is indeed the best overseas trip I have ever had.

Chats with friends who've been there previously revealed experiences that ranged from unpleasant to downright terrifying. The general consensus being that the French are typically unfriendly, kinda snooty, and occasionally prone to racially-motivated acts of aggression.

These same friends were understandably surprised by my overwhelmingly positive accounts. As per my usual habit, I joined a tour group comprising travellers from all over the world. We visited the French countryside for 2 weeks via coach, with a local tour director handling our travel arrangements, but were regularly left on our own to explore the area separately.
Thereafter, my mom and I extended our stay in Paris for another 6 days.

As such, we had ample opportunity to interact with the locals and observe them in their natural habitats, so to speak.

Of course, I'm familiar with this style of touring, having taken at least 1-2 overseas trips every year for the past decade, often with the same company, or flying solo with mum +/- dad in tow. I would've opted for a completely independent free-and-easy format, if not for the language barrier. ( Sadly, while I was offered the chance to study a 3rd language in secondary school - I was interested in French - my parents eventually decided not to enrol me in classes. )

So why do I say this is the best trip ever? Not because of the scenery ( New Zealand and Bavaria top my personal list for now ), and not because of the fun factor ( NZ, Tokyo, Las Vegas and Manhattan take the cake ).

It's hard to pinpoint one particular reason, so I'll mention a few:

1) I find France's rich history and culture endlessly fascinating.

2) The French language is music to my ears. It sounds good even when you curse. :)

3) Paris is now my favourite city, toppling Manhattan from the top spot.

4) I was lucky enough to meet many friendly and kind locals everywhere I went. Not just in shops / restaurants / hotels, but on the street as well. Assistance was rendered when requested - despite the language issue - with a few even going out of their way to help us out, and always with a big smile.

5) Our tour director, F, was beyond excellent. Took fabulous care of us on a daily basis, and taught us tonnes about French idiosyncracies. His commentaries were insightul and peppered with hilarious anecdotes. He may not be considered good-looking, but his charm more than makes up for it. Really like him. A lot.

6) The tour group was, as always, an eclectic bunch. Lots of Australians and Canadians this time round, and surprisingly, zero Americans. A first! Met a fellow doctor - another first! A few of our meals together practically turned into Saturday Night Live skits, causing me to laugh so hard I teared up and almost choked on my drink. Great memories. :)

7) Lots of foodie adventures. Croque monsieur, escargots, poulet / canard / poisson / St-Jacques cooked to perfection ( can't describe them exactly 'cos most of the menus were in French ). Even had a lunch where I cooked my own fish on a hot stone. And a dinner in Beaune prepared by a Japanese chef, consisting of pre-appetizers and pre-desserts that stimulated the taste buds beautifully ( fish- and beef-flavoured mousse, anyone? ), with a wagyu beef main course which I will sigh about forever.
Let's not forget a lunch in Nice, just steps away from the Grimaldi palace, featuring an escalope of some kind ( indecipherable menu yet again ) that melts in your mouth, drenched in the most heavenly cream sauce.
Can't imagine what my cholesterol level is like right now. Hopefully my liver is working properly.

8) All the beautiful French people. Naturally, those in Paris are usually dressed to the nines while those in the countryside are more casual. But there's no denying their drop-dead gorgeous looks. I used to drool over the Italians, but the French are 10 times better.
( I stare at the locals a lot when I travel, so trust me on this. :))

What I enjoyed most was the eye candy at restaurants, hotels and shops. The service industry appears to be dominated by men ( excluding women's boutiques, that is ), and a lot of these 20- and 30-something-year-olds look like models. Tall, slim or athletically built, perfect teeth, perfect hair, flawless manners, oodles ( and I mean ooooooodles ) of charm.

Compared to all the other countries I've visited, the French definitely take service very seriously, practically elevating it to an art form. At restaurants, if you stop to read the menus posted on the notice board outside, someone will usually come up to you to offer you the actual thing, invite you to sit down, or hover in case you have a question ( usually with a welcoming smile or greeting ).
At hotels, aside from opening doors, the bellhop follows you right into the lobby, offering help with your packages even though you don't ask for it.
At one renowned tea shop, the sales staff ( I'd just like to mention that I had the best time talking to him 'cos he is so freaking, unbelievably handsome :)), followed me around as I selected flavours, arranging the boxes on a counter to keep track of my purchases, opening containers for me to smell the tea leaves, then giving me loads of extra bags to present as gifts to my friends / relatives.
At a famous perfume shop in Nice, a lady also followed us from counter to counter, even though we didn't request her help. She took the trouble to describe all the fragrances in a bath soap set we were inspecting, and we ended up buying 5 of them.

9) Lots of memorable places / activities.
More to follow in a later post, but here's a compressed list.

#1: the Louvre, which was just a 3-minute walk from our hotel. Crowded and a nightmare to navigate ( I got lost twice even with a map in my hand, so don't be a hero, just keep asking the staff seated in the various rooms for directions ), so booking a guided tour proved the right decision. ( Our guide for the day, V, is a walking encyclopaedia, has a delicious sense of humour and is clearly gay. Loved him to bits. :))
We covered a few of the must-sees ( Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa, to name two ), before being left to our own devices.
I made a direct beeline for the sculpture galleries, which are AWESOME. I thought the one at the Met in NYC was amazing, but this is way more impressive. I could've stayed there all day, but started to get a headache while mum's energy level began to wane, so we left around mid-afternoon.
Will definitely return the next time I'm in Paris.

#2: a Segway ride around the city.
If you're going to ride a Segway, Paris is the place to do it!
But a word of caution: if you haven't ridden one before, it can be very VERY dangerous.
Evidence: my mom fell off and dropped out of the tour, and I lost my balance just before the tour ended, crashing into a barrier and giving myself a humongous bruise on the leg. ( At least nothing happened during the tour itself, which lasted 4 hours. Great value for money! )
The contraption is quite easy to manoeuvre, especially if you know how to ride a bicycle ( balancing ability is key ), but the tour guides for this company are mostly young guys in their 20s, and they go extremely fast on the narrow sidewalks. Add the heavy foot traffic, numerous crossings and uneven ground, and you've got disasters waiting to happen.
Doesn't help that everyone has to sign indemnity forms before the tour starts.

#3: Giverny, aka Claude Monet's place of residence.
About an hour's drive from Paris, quaint and, IMHO, utterly enchanting.
I booked this tour purely out of curiosity ( the water lily pond featured in his famous painting is located here ), but found myself falling in love with the place.
Will of course upload photos at a later date. The water lilies weren't blooming when we visited, so we concentrated on the main garden just outside Monet's house.
It isn't large, and in fact looks totally chaotic, with an unkempt appearance. But somehow, it actually works. Lots of exotic, strange-looking blooms, in a riot of bright colours. There're many paths for you to stroll along, and every one offers something new to gawk at.
The house itself is, again, quite small. The paintings are copies - originals were moved to museums ages ago - but make sure you enter the studio, which is clearly the largest room in the building, and arranged to match a photograph taken many years ago.
The place has a very peaceful, happy vibe. I felt the same way when I visited Winston Churchill's Chartwell residence 15 years ago.

Also stopped for lunch at a lovely 200-year-old water mill / restaurant. The dessert was a slice of apple pie with a sauce that is to die for. Spent 15 minutes in the beautiful garden, snapping pictures and gazing at a bunch of cows soaking in the river. There was just... something about that scene. Pastoral is the best way to describe it. I honestly could have stood there looking at those cows for hours.

10) The French's appreciation of Asian women.

As the tour progressed, I began to realize that all that friendliness wasn't a case of simply good manners or maintaining service quality.
Perhaps we're considered a little exotic - although this seems a tad impossible in tourist hotspots like Nice and Monaco, but that's where I kept getting stared at. Most flattering, I must say. :)
A few of them asked whether I'm Japanese, and my penpal E, who plays for the other team ( if you know what I mean ), kept beaming at me appreciatively from across the table during our 3-hour chat, even though it would've made more sense if I'd been a guy.
Ahhh, European charm at its best. :)

Shall conclude the post here for the time being. There's still lots more to discuss, but that will have to wait till my medical cover duties at the F1 race are completed.
Just found out that my location is in close proximity to the stage where Adam Lambert will be performing. Hope I get to see him in person! :D

Quick Update From Paris



aka Bliss Part 27. :)



It's Day 18 of my vacation, and just returned to the City of Lights yesterday evening, after concluding a 2-week-long tour of the countryside.

Details from our journey will follow in a later entry. For now, all I can say is that I'm enjoying myself thoroughly, and have been most fortunate to meet many locals who've been nothing short of delightful. Made lots of new friends from the tour itself. Our Tour Director and coach driver have also exceeded expectations, and I was very sad to bid them goodbye.


However, my mom and I now have another week to explore Paris on our own, with a couple of outings to Versailles, Giverny and the Loire Valley lined up as well.


Considering a few horror stories I've heard from various people who visited France in recent years, I was definitely apprehensive about making the trip. Not sure if it's our good fortune, or whether the French have mellowed, but all our experiences thus far have been very pleasant.


The cuisine had its ups and downs, but I blame it on the organized tour group dinners, a few of which were rather disappointing. But when my mom and I went hunting for restaurants on our own, we often struck gold. I already count at least two of our meals - in Beaune and Monaco - among the best I've ever had. There was another one in a small town, but I don't even know the name of the place, and we basically ordered randomly from a French menu.


Perhaps that's part of the appeal of these gastronomic adventures - not really knowing what we're going to get, so when the meal turns out to be great, it makes the whole experience that much better.


Also, let's not forget all the handsome young male waiters who seem to have cornered the restaurant business. Hardly see any waitresses around anywhere, not that I'm complaining. :)


It really is quite amazing how unbelievably good-looking some of these chaps are. At one sidewalk cafe in Nice, there were 4 gorgeous hunks strolling around at the same time, with the best of the lot - a dark-haired version of Ryan Gosling (!) - serving us. And believe it or not, I managed ( though ununtentionally ) to get him very flustered at one point. Don't ask me why, I just sat back and enjoyed the display. :)

And yes, it appears that Asian women are prized by the Frenchmen, both young and old. I guess it helps that I look much younger than my real age, plus the fact that I dress well and smile a lot more when I'm overseas. It's easy when you're not bogged down by stress or fatigue. The weather also agrees with me, as evidenced by a healthy tan and perpetual rosy cheeks. :)

Mum and I are now staying at yet another different hotel in Paris. First one when we arrived in late August was in the Opera Quarter. Second one was yesterday, near the Eiffel Tower. Today's is in the Tuileries district - excellent location, close to many museums and monuments, all within walking distance. And our toiletries are from Bulgari. Yow. :D

The Rue de Rivoli is just a street away. Met E, my penpal from Paris, for afternoon tea at Angelina, and ended up chatting for 3 whole hours, about everything from food to music to family. My mom joined us, of course ( she was NOT going to let me meet a stranger in a foreign country alone ), and can't stop singing E's praises either. The restaurant was packed to the brim, with lots of tourists and a few locals, but definitely a fashionable crowd. I was particularly pleased with a table adjacent to ours, populated by 4 gorgeous young men who fit the jet-setting, playboy mould to a T. I think one of them sat next to mom and I at a Chinese restaurant later during dinner, but with a different chap whom he didn't seem to know that well, based on their conversation. That was interesting. :)

This is what I love about France ( not just Paris ). People-watching has never been one of my favourite pursuits - I prefer to eat and run in Singapore, who the hell cares about the other diners? But the French have helped me learn to relax and appreciate life a lot more. The first few days were a little tough, as we waited up to 30 minutes between courses, and a typical dinner took 2-3 hours to complete. As our trip progressed, time passed more smoothly, and I found myself daydreaming, savouring a beautiful sunset, feeling the cool breeze on my face, and really tasting the food I was eating.

I'm often homesick when away for more than 2 weeks, but currently find myself extremely reluctant to return to Singapore...