A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Singapore. The decision to go on the short holiday was due some frequent flyer points I had that were expiring in August so it was either use them or let them expire.

I’ve been to Singapore quite a few times now usually as a stopover destination but this time it was the only destination. My plans were just to eat, shop, do some sightseeing and take a few photos. I also wanted to try Singapore’s famous chili crab which I did. I’ve heard so much about this iconic dish but never got around to trying it. Man, I’m so glad I did. I devoured a 1.4kg mud crab and it was absolutely delicious. To anyone visiting Singapore, this is a must try dish. Very sticky and messy but well worth it.

On this trip I visited the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Marina Bay Sands casino and I also got to watch some of the Singapore National Day rehearsals in the Marina Bay area. The rehearsals included an air-show from the Singapore Air Force. Seeing the aircraft fly so low and hearing the noise from the jet fighters was absolutely awesome. All up it was a great holiday. I love Singapore and I always thoroughly enjoy my visits there.

Late March this year I had the pleasure of visiting Vietnam again. This time it was as a group consisting of myself, my girlfriend, some of her friends and their partners. I thought going together as a group of 8 would make organising things more difficult but it all worked out quite well. There was never dull moment.

On this trip we managed to fit in Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta region, Nha Trang, Ha Long Bay and Hanoi all in about 8 days. After Hanoi we flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where we spent 3 nights before heading back home to Melbourne. It was pretty full on visiting so many places in such a short time but it was all worth it. Definitely a holiday to remember.

Las Vegas is one grand city. I don’t think anything can prepare you for Vegas. I’ve been told all about the lights and buzz about the city before but never did I think it would be as enormous as it was when I got there. The hotel and casino complexes are simply massive. I was gob smacked when I read that some have over 5,000 rooms. Just crazy.

My girlfriend and I walked around heaps taking photos along the way but after a while that got a bit tiring. I didn’t realise the Strip was so long! We ended up either jumping in the car and driving to each casino or catching the monorail which was convenient. There was just so much to see and too little time. We managed to visit a handful of the complexes in our 3 days and 2 nights in the city. That was probably a bit too short though. Next time I’d like to spend 5 days in Vegas and make a day trip to the Grand Canyon.

Before driving back to LA we went to visit the Hoover Dam. After seeing it in movies over the years I was really excited about seeing it in real life. The water level was quite low which was a bit disappointing but nevertheless it was a amazing to see it.

I know I’ve been totally slack but I’ve finally got around to posting my California pictures. I wasn’t even going to bother since it’s been something like 6 months since I got back last year but I thought it would be a such a waste not to post them. Oh and for those not following, my girlfriend and I stopped over in the U.S. on our way back home from London (where we spent over a year on a working holiday) last year. While in the States we visited New York, LA and Las Vegas.

I must say I really liked LA. The shopping the great, food was good, the people were friendly and the weather was warm and sunny. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. We had a rental car so we drove around a fair bit and visited some great places like Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Venice Beach, Santa Monica and Malibu. We also drove up to Las Vegas for a couple of nights and on the way there we made a detour and visited Death Valley National Park which was amazing. All up we spent 3 nights in LA and 2 nights in Vegas which wasn’t long enough at all. I can’t wait to head back someday and spend a bit longer there.

If I had to sum up New York City in one word it would be WOW! It’s such an amazing city with so much on offer. It is a place that I will definitely be visiting again hopefully in the not too distant future.

After the 7.5 hour flight from London to New York on British Airways (I won’t be flying them again after their shitty service) we arrived at JFK airport and hopped into a cab headed for Queens where our hotel was located. We stayed at the Country Inn & Suites by Carlson just across the East River for six nights. The hotel was excellent and it was also so much cheaper to stay across the river in Queens compared to Manhattan. Our room had a great view of the city as well.

While in New York we did the typical touristy things and visited Times Square, Central Park, Grand Central Station (that was for lunch at the Grand Central Oyster Bar which was yummo), Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Rockefeller Centre, Chinatown and we even caught a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden which was a great experience. We also made the trip downtown to Coney Island and ate at Nathan’s Famous hot dogs. I’ve heard Coney Island mentioned so many times in movies and TV shows that I had to go and check the place out. It was well worth it too.

In all the places I have visited I have to say New York ranks right up there amongst my favourites. It’s a city with so much to do and offers so much of everything. Getting around is so easy with the great subway system. It’s definitely a place I’ll be visiting again.