Diary Of A Travel Blogger From Antarctica To Hong Kong

Name: Raffy Halim

Occupation: Doctor- Anaesthetist in training

Current Location: Melbourne, Australia, but  moving to Townsville in two weeks!

Hot places are not really my ‘thing’ but this next year will be full of them when I move to Townsville near the Great Barrier Reef. My favourite place to date would have to be Dubai, UAE. I didn’t spend too much time there, but it’s amazing to see the buildings in the area and just how BIG the place has become. The contrast is most evident of you travel to the nearby Abu Dhabi as well. Locals say it’s like Dubai was 5-10 years ago and if that statement is true, the difference is amazing to see!

Without a doubt, Hong Kong. I got off the plane at 6pm and was immediately called by one of my friends who urged me to meet them on Hollywood Rd. Next thing I knew I was at a bar high above the city, looking at the harbour and then suddenly it was 4am we were singing karaoke at the top of our lungs. I fell asleep in a staircase but the rest kept on partying!

Who can go past all the attractions at Singapore Airport! You could spend a whole day looking at the gardens, movies & eating at restaurants and vision the different lounges. It’s almost a destination in itself!

Surprisingly, nearly getting kidnapped near the south end of town in Osaka, Japan would have to be the closest I came to danger, though the place didn’t feel super dangerous. Just goes to show that any place can be dangerous, but most places aren’t if you stay on alert.

This happens to be my favourite place in the world as well: Pokhara, Nepal. We came from Chitwan national park and the country was facing a fuel shortage so we had to ride on the roof top of a bus with the luggage or be delayed by 1-2 days.

We went the adventurous route and rode on the top. I do not recommend it if you’re scared of heights since the road has some serious high drops from the edge of cliffs on the drive to the valley, but I’ll always remember entering the town of Pokhara and getting a glimpse of the lake shiner ring with sunlight with the beautiful mountains in the background. I’ve spent many hours just sitting and staring at the lake.

I hope the area is doing OK after the recent Earthquakes.

I went to the sky building in Osaka (few hours before the near kidnap experience) and remember staring out at the city with a coffee and being mesmerised by the hypnotic pulse of the red lights that identify tall buildings.

If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘Lost in Translation’ by Sophia Coppola, there’s a few scenes of Tokyo with a similar view.

It’s one of those moments where I felt truly happy and content with life!

Antarctica! This has been a life long dream and it seems surreal that I was there around 6 months ago. The constant sunlight and the amazingly still water make it one of those indescribably places you have to visit to understand.

I’m slowly putting my photos up at www.photosbyraffy.com if you wanted to take a look.

My camera. There’s so many incredible things you get to see during any travel adventure that it’s been my most prized travel accessory.

The return trip from Nepal was probably the hardest. For one thing, I loved the country, and also didn’t get any tummy bugs until literally my last 12 hours there! Flying  with food poisoning is NOT fun!

This would have to be a tie between the Miso cod at Zengo in Washington DC near Chinatown and the Wagyu at Sepia in Sydney. I’m not a foodie and can’t say I really can appreciate great cuisine, but both those dishes opened my eyes to how amazing food could taste!