Local Encounters

I remember when I used to hike national parks and wild places in my travels, there was always a thrill of encountering wild animals. (My last hike overseas was something like 15 months ago *gasp*!!) Sure, there would be always a small fragment of fear, but more often than not, excitement prevailed. The feeling was extra acute when I went Alaska - I would fervently wish that I would encounter a bear, knowing full well that the danger was real. But my wildlife encounters were pretty mild - an Ezo deer in Hokkaido Japan, some sort of elk in the Canadian Rockies, a mountain goat in Spain etc.

Well, now that travel would not possible for the year or more, I had to content myself with local hikes and walks in Singapore. Sure, there are unexplored parts of Singapore, but I hated the hot weather conditions and the memories of my army training in our humid jungles didn't exactly leave good impressions. And encountering wild boars seemed not very exciting somehow. But hey, still better than circuit-breaker stuck-at-home right?

So there I was walking along a trail in the Central Catchment area, listening and looking out for birds - a relatively recent interest. "Birding" allowed me to have something additional to do aside from just walking/hiking, and I'm learning something new every week. And suddenly, there was some serious rustling sound ahead of me. I stood stupidly looking at some sort of animal foraging across the vegetation. I happened to have my mobile on-hand and quickly tried to take a video. It... it looked like a ... deer!

That got me really excited. But of course, the rest of my walk was quite uneventful. Until late evening when the light was really dim and I was hurrying along the trail. Again, there was sudden rustling and this time, I activated my mobile quickly, but the animal was quicker, so everything was really blurry. It looked like a hare hopping away. 

Back at home, I scrutinised my videos, and it looked like a *family* of deers. Googling revealed that we have Sambar deers in our forest (though the search results are all sad news of our deers being killed in accidents). In fact, a few days later, there were news reports on the Sambar deer sightings as well (including very nice videos!)

So the following week, I went back again, hoping for another encounter. And guess what? I caught a glimpse again, but yet again, my reaction time was just retarded. So week after week, I went again, hoping to stalk the deer. But alas, it was super uneventful, not even any birds spotted.

My last trip though, did yielded something. I was dejected that it was another uneventful walk and the light was getting really dim. A sudden rustling sound alerted me to something in the shadows - the "hare" from several trips ago but this time though, it didn't bolt. It stayed where it was and I slowly activated my camera(s). It was actually a Lesser Mousedeer!! Unfortunately, the light by then was really low, and I dared not move too much to take out my tripod and torchlight and frighten the mousedeer away. So I took what I could.

There are two kinds of mousedeers in Singapore - the Lesser and the Greater Mousedeer. Looking through the videos, I believe it's the Lesser. This was probably my most exciting encounter reminiscent of my travels, which was so lacking in the past year. Needless to say, photos and videos wise leave alot to be desired but hey, actual travels is still a long way off yah? *snicker* . Hope to capture the Sambar deers next!

New Pillow for a New Sleep

It's been one long year since my last trip out of the country and with covid still lingering everywhere, I think I would still be sleeping in my room, in the same bed, for a long while more. Funnily enough, I was contacted by Best in Singapore, an internet media company, for a review of a premium plush pillow and I thought why not? At least I could rest my head on a new different pillow!!

The pillow is the Origin Superior Coolmax® Latex Pillow from Origin Mattress. I'm sold on the word Coolmax already. I have several apparel using Coolmax® material and it's a welcome in humid hot Singapore. Off I go to their website to order the Origin Superior Coolmax® Latex Pillow (you can click on the link) and at the time of writing, it is $129, off from the original $159. The price includes free same-day shipping, and payment can be made using credit card, secured via payment service provider Liquid Gateway. There is also a 7-Day Free Return (self-return to Origin’s warehouse) and even 2 years of warranty!

Well, while the same-day shipping offered a time-slot for your shipping, it did not quite "deliver". I chose a 1pm-6pm slot, and the pillow arrived at about 8pm, so it did inconvenienced me a bit. But deliveries post-covid for me had been generally a hit-and-miss affair. Anyway, the thing that caught my eye on the box when it arrived was the words "Designed in Germany". As a photographer, I had known that German optics and engineering are well-known but now, it seemed applicable for pillows! Apparently, they had infused latex with a cooling gel formula and THAT, is German engineering!

"Designed in Germany"!

The pillow also comes with a removable pillow case made with Tencil fabric, a luxuriously soft fabric that is also machine-washable. A thing to note though, is that the pillow is not contoured or recessed in the middle like some other pillows that offers "ergonomic" shapes. The design is such that their responsive latex foam already provide full support for the head and neck. Finally, the latex foam has hypoallergenic properties, so it is anti-dust mite, which is a very important point for me (yes, I am allergic to dust mite).

Non-contoured pillow

Pillow include a soft luxurious-feel pillow case

Well, after using it for the past few days, it had to be said that most of the points are delivered. The feeling on the head is luxuriously soft, but I have to point out that it is not those "feather soft" in the sense that after being compressed, it stays compressed kind. Nor does it slowly return to shape like those memory foam. It is actually springy, and firm on the head so your head don't sink all the way into the pillow. This helps support your head/neck. I think some people may have quite specific requirements on this aspect. For me, it is definitely comfortable and more preferable than those "super soft" pillows that I had in some hotels, where after a while, my head has literally almost sunk to the mattress level....

Unlike a lot of Singaporeans, I do not sleep with the air-condition on, so on hot humid nights I do perspire on the pillow. While the past few nights that I tried the pillow had not been hot, it really still felt quite cooling on the head. So I guess the cooling gel that was fused in may really had helped. Also, just for the record as it is probably too short a time be "tested", but I never had any dust mite allergy reaction flareup!

In conclusion, I am pretty pleased with the pillow. As to whether it is worth the price, it all depends on your budget and requirements. You can also check out this article for more ideas about the pillows in the market : The Best 8 Pillows in Singapore.

Again, my thanks to the Best in Singapore and Origin Mattress for this collaboration. Their websites and social media can be found below. Check them out!

Best in Singapore
Website | Facebook | Instagram

Origin Mattress
Website | Facebook | Instagram

Traveling Deep...

While I like to get myself immensed in a place or country's culture, what I meant traveling deep is quite literal - traveling deep underground. And when you are deep underground, getting up and down takes time, which is what this is all about ;) 8D

I remember when I was in Moscow and St Petersburg 8-9 years ago, there were some metro stations that took forever when riding the escalators. And now I found myself in Kyiv Ukraine, where well, they have the world's (2nd) deepest metro station.

Situated 105.5m underground, one needs to travel through 2 sets of escalators to go up/down Arsenalna station. It takes a good 4min 26s on these escalators (including the short walk between the 2 escalators). 4 minutes doesn't sound like a long time, but when you are on an escalator, it sure is (and when you are running late, it is eternity). And there are actually signs in the stations that says "No sitting on escalator"! Of course, I've seen a few (youths mostly) that do just that - sit on the escalator step while it chug along.

For the record, the longest single metro escalator ride is actually in one of Moscow metro station. It was 3+ minutes I believe (and there are actually quite a number of stations in Moscow, St Petersburg & Kyiv that take close to that amount of time as well). And if you have noticed, there is a parenthesis on the word "2nd" in my statement above. Arsenalna may well be the deepest metro station but DPRK's Pyongyang metro is said to be 110m deep. Well, I'm not entirely sure we could take Mr Kim's word for it, and I'm also not very sure if it had been "independently verified".... ;)

So how did I know its 4min 26s? Well, here's a sped-up timelapse of the time taken going up on Arsenalna station.... Sorry it started at 3+s because I fumbled on the recording phone, and that its so dizzying - thats why I'm not a vlogger ha. And its dizzyingly sped-up because you don't want to be looking at a 4min 26s video of a riding escalator..... :) :)

PS. rem you still need additional time to get from escalator to train platform and station entrance/exit...

Gadget for the Digital Nomad

Technologies are moving fast, and coupled with today's access to mass market funding, innovative products and solutions are gaining momentum in reaching consumers like us. Sites like kickstarter and indiegogo have helped pushed products out faster than before. Needless to say for digital nomads, there's bound to be plenty of stuff out there to capture this market.

It was not long ago when I tried out virtual SIM solution for my travels. Before that, I've also had mobile portable routers for my travels. Of course, many of us still bring powerbanks during our travels. Plenty of gadgets for the digital nomad indeed. Now, check out Nommi at Indiegogo.

Nommi is slated to be a 4G hotpot portable router with virtual SIM technology, provide dual wifi, act as a powerbank, as well as a Qi wireless charger! Talk about convergence and squeezing everything into one! (There is another version without the powerbank/charger ability). Aside from making the gadget a all-in-one thingy, there are two features inside that I found intriguing.

Squeezing multi-functionality into a portable device

One is their dual wifi feature. Essentially, the Nommi has a database of wifi passwords around the world. This database of wifi passwords is not a new thing, but what Nommi does is to seamlessly integrate it so that when such wifi is available, it will use the wifi network instead of your mobile data. This will help conserve your expensive data. Actually for me, I have been doing this manually on my own, and this device is supposed to just do everything for you seamlessly (according to specs lah). Oh, it can also act as a wifi extender...

The other feature that caught my eye is that VPN is inbuilt into Nommi! So, a VPN client is already installed/configured within to connect to preconfigured servers around the world. This works nicely when connecting to public Wifis, and is in fact the default behavior for the dual wifi feature. If you have your own VPN already, you can configure it in too. I think that's an awesome addition to such a gadget because well, VPN in today's world seemed to be a necessity!

Anyway, the good thing about Nommi is that, as a multi-function device, you can choose to utilize the necessary part of its feature only. The global data is relatively expensive, and so if you are going only one country for a length of time, it is probably cheaper to buy a local SIM card. However, you can insert this local SIM into Nommi too, and then use it like a normal mifi device with VPN support. For iPhone users who have only one SIM slot, this is a nice device to have around! As for multi-country travelers, many in Singapore are using M1 and Starhub's excellent data roaming plans. However, if you are going to countries not in their roaming country list, then the Nommi can help too with its 140+ roaming countries in its virtual SIM. So do read up on the details of their capability and prices to determine what works for you, when it works for you, or even whether it works for you! :). Go to their Nommi Indiegogo project page to find out.

Portable

Looks to be a great device for a digital nomad

I've joined their affiliate program, and when you back/order their product using this link, you and I will get 500Mb of free global data. Nommi has actually reached its target funding and has in fact, hit almost 200% over its goal. I guess there are really many people who really needs their internet when they travel... :O The end of the campaign is just few weeks left, though you can still get the product after that, it's just that you do not enjoy the discount of the early backers. However, the 500Mb free global data would still be valid when you get it through my affiliate link.

It is scheduled to be shipped in June 2018. So obviously the reviews of the actual product will only be available then. But their solution is certainly sound, and for the hungry digital nomads, certainly worth a look!

Hoping for more travels in 2018!

Salmon Run

Seward (and Alaska) is shutting down. I know things would be slowing down, but I didn't expect things to be literally shutting down.

I had rushed from Fairbanks to Anchorage so that I could catch the last Alaskan Railroad train of the season from Anchorage to Seward on 17 Sep. It is reputed to be one of the most scenic train rides, and I am very glad I managed to catch it. I was impressed.

But on reaching Seward, I found that the train was not the only thing that is "last". The free city shuttle was also running its last day, and of course, more than half of the train passengers on the train were catching the last cruise ship sailing out of Seward. A lot of the tourist facilities were also not operating, like the shuttle to the Exit Glacier, one of the main attractions of Seward!

In any case, Seward is a great place to chill in. I enjoy the walks along the waterfront, with the mountains right in front, and the otters cruising lazily in the waters. And I saw a number of the locals whisking their fishing rods on an inlet from the sea into the streams. What a strange way of fishing! I ventured closer.

Local "fishermen"

After looking at the scene for a while, I finally realized that there were salmon wriggling upstream from the sea into the inlet. The fishing rods had a 3-pronged hook with  no bait, and the "fishermen" were literally whisking the rods and lines to hook up the salmon! September is the last of the Silver Salmon (one of the species of salmon here in Alaska) run where they are returning back to Seward to spawn.

Next day, I again took my walk along the waterfront. I went near the harbour where hundreds of empty boats lay anchored. On the dock, rows of water hoses hung loosely from a rack like some forsaken manufacturing plant. I would imagine just a few months ago, this would be filled with people washing and filleting the salmon brought in by the boats. And breaking the silence and monotony of the harbour, a man was systematically washing and filleting a salmon.

Water hoses on the dock for washing/filleting fish

Local resident Dwayne, like most Alaskans, was really friendly and I quickly got into a conversation with him even as he continued his washing and filleting. He has a boat which he brings out to do his fishing, and the morning catch saw him net just four salmon. It was really the tail end of the salmon run, and he actually had to throw away one of his salmon because the fish meat was "white and not good" already. The salmon was actually already dying even before being caught. Every resident is entitled to catch only 6 fish a day, and for foreigners, a permit/license is needed for fishing. It costs us$25 for the permit which would be valid for 24 hours and entitled the same quota of 6 fish.
It was quite an interesting and educational talk. I do not know if these numbers are for Seward only or Alaska-wide, but it is a form of sustainable fishing and food policy. And as many may already know, the salmon spawns in inland rivers, and they would swim out to the open seas to spend their adulthood. Then, when reaching maturity, they would uncannily swim back to the exact river(bed) where they were born, and lay their eggs, and thus the cycle continues. This order of Mother Nature have been cleverly used by humans, as they would harvest salmon eggs and milt, and "plant" them in rivers of Alaskan communities. The resulting spawn would get their "imprint" of their birthing riverbed and thus began their biological cycle. And when they return, the communities would be ready to harvest them, and with proper policies to ensure enough salmon get back in to spawn, it is a wonderfully sustainable practise.

Dwayne with his filleted salmon

And then Dwayne asked,

"How long are you staying in Seward? Do you have access to a kitchen?"

My eyes lit up.

"Oh yes, I am staying in a hostel for a few days and they have a kitchen!" I said somewhat pensively, not daring to get my hopes too high.

"I could give you a fillet if you want." The magical words came out.

"That would be awesome! Thanks!" I exclaimed!

The delight didn't stop. Imagining what a fillet of salmon would be in Singapore, I was hoping for a generous cut. Instead, he just handed me one-half side of the entire salmon!!

"I don't have an extra bag though" He said.

I didn't mind one bit. And it was not long after when one can see a figure in bright red jacket scurrying along the road with a bright pink piece of meat on his hand...

My gift of wild-caught salmon that will last me 3-4 meals :)

Travel in Alaska is expensive - transport, accommodation and food are expensive. But these little experiences not just add colour to my travels, but saved me quite a bit of money too! Wild caught salmon is not cheap, even in Alaska!!
                                                  
And with my 25c instant noodle (cooked dry) with soy sauce, super-sweet cherry tomatoes, and my wild-caught, homecooked, pan-seared salmon, it was one of my tastiest meals in Alaska!! :) :)

I am happy! :)

Pan-seared salmon with "instant noodle"

More glorious salmon - pan-fried with crispy skin..

Salmon easily caught

Many of the locals throw away the roe!!

Quest of the Ice Cave II

The day was beautiful as forecasted. I started on the West Glacier Trail. The trail would bring you to a mountain ridge on the west side of the Mendenhall glacier, which would provide a wonderful top-down view of the glacier. Somewhere one-third on the trail, there is a split, which heads down towards the Mendenhall lake. This is the "unofficial" trail that would bring you right to the glacier itself, and is the trail to the icecave.

When I reached the split in the trail, there was a group of tourists led by a guide who was briefing them. She was apparently leading them to a glacier hike, which means they would be heading down the trail. I asked the guide if it's safe or difficult on the trail, and she replied convincing

"You'll be fine".

Boosted by that, I plunged headlong onto the trail. The icecave may have collapsed, but at least I can stand right beside a glacier. And I guess I wanted to just "complete" my planned trek to the "icecave" since I had researched on it for a while. Armed with the GPS tracks on my mobile, and reaffirmed by the trail markers, the trek was easier then I had expected even though there were quite a few climbs over rocky terrain. But one thing was certain - if it had been rainy, the trail would have been a different beast, and possibly too dangerous to attempt.

Up-close - Glacial Hiking

Instead, the trail had surprising amount of traffic, no doubt due to the excellent weather. Online information put the trek as a 7-8 hour round-trip trek, so I upped my pace to make sure I had enough time as I knew I'm a slow hiker. But I reached the base of the glacier in 2 hours.

Entrance of cave

And I found a group of people in front of a cave entrance. I hastened forward, heart beating fast (hey, I was hiking fast). And round the corner, there was this surreal weird-greenish "wall" that greeted me.

I was ecstatically mind-blown.

I suspected I had a maniacal look on my face when I entered the cave. My camera and my iPhone went into overdrive, and I wished I had more hands. It was difficult though. The whole "cave' was dripping. Icy glacier water was dripping all over. And I realized, it was not exactly a "cave" (anymore). Further in, there was another opening, but littered with huge chunks of ice. It dawned on me that, that must had been the "back" of the cave when it "collapse", essentially opening up the cave. So now the cave had 2 openings! (so is this still considered a cave?)

Cave wiith two openings

This changed the entire look of the icecave. With 2 light sources, the photographic compositions, mood etc also changed. But I cannot complain. Ice caves come and go, and after all that had happened, I am SO glad that I still had the chance to see it in person.

It was cold beneath the glacier. It was completely wet with water dripping overhead, and flowing on the ground.

But now, I am very happy. :)

Surreal blue and colours

Surreal blue and colours

Surreal

Even with the "excessive" light, the colour vaariation is surreal

Quest of the Ice Cave

I don't remember exactly when it was when I first came across the surreal image on the internet, but it was around 2012 after I came back from my big trip. A man inside a bizarre-shaped-icy-walled blue cavern of some sort. Naturally, I didn't think it was real. But I dug abit, and was intrigued that this was possibly a real thing. The image(s) of the ice cave were taken in Kamchatka Russia. These caves are essentially found beneath glaciers, and so it was really a cave within solid blocks of ice!

I told myself that I needed to see this in person. And then, out of the blue (pun unintended), a friend seemed to be arranging a trip to Kamchatka! What a coincidence I thought! But the trip was arranged through a Russian agent on a pre-arranged itinerary. It was difficult to liaise in Russian on a customised itinerary. So I gave up the thought of seeing the icecave in Kamchatka.

And then I discovered that icecaves are one of the attractions in Iceland! And Iceland had always been in my radar for travel. So in Sep 2015, I finally went on a drive trip with friends to Iceland. I had not researched it detailed enough though. As it turned out, the agencies and guides only start bringing clients to icecaves only in late Oct, where it's safer to visit. I was deeply disappointed that yet another chance to visit an icecave had gone up in smoke.

So 2017 is the year. The year that I visit Alaska, where yes, there is also a well-known icecave in Juneau in Southeast Alaska. It was confusing though. I contacted some agencies, and generally, most tours seemed to operate only in summer. I thought about going in winter but logistics and travel in winter in Alaska is frustrating. So again, I decided to go in Sep where the tours to the icecave are still running, and more importantly, I found that one can visit the icecave on our own! I found GPS tracks that people had shared online, and in the worst case scenario, I would trek to the icecave on my own.

I arrived in Juneau on a wet dismal evening on the Alaska Marine Highway ferry. It had not been the best start of a trip. In the short 5 days prior to Juneau, I discovered that Southeast Alaska had one of the wettest seasons in recent years. I caught a flu and cough during my 25-hour ferry ride. I spent half of my 3 days in Haines recovering in my cabin. And I also realized that travel has a new dynamic for me nowadays. I lost my progressive lens, and I felt so handicapped!! :{. Reading maps, brochures and supermarket labels posed new challenges....

Cloudy days on the ferry, but you get glimpses of the scenery

The weekend signaled a turning point. My couchsurfing host advised that according to forecast, Saturday would be mostly sunny, and Sunday a full sunny day! This was after weeks of rain! I was buoyant. I arrived in the excellent Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Centre early in the morning. This is where most tourists come to to see the famous glacier. The trail to the icecave beneath the Mendenhall Glacier is in another location, which I planned to go next day.

The Mendenhall Visitor Center with direct views to the glacier

The Mendenhall Glacier

The tourists (and locals) and out in full force. I've certainly seen glaciers before, but I never get tired of seeing them. It's a great feeling seeing the ever-changing blue of the glaciers... together with the tons of tourists. The park ranger was having small-talk with a tour-leader, and I couldn't help hearing part of their conversation......

"..yeah, yesterday, the icecave collapsed, and there were a couple of people inside. Yeah, they came out ok, but shaken. I would be too you know...." the park ranger went on...

I froze, and something in my chest collapsed too. I was not being unsympathetic, but the only thing that resounded in my head was "...the icecave collapsed..."

I stood stunned for a while, still grasping with what I heard.

"...the icecave collapsed.." continued to reveberate around my mind.

I went back to the visitor center and casually asked about the icecave from another park official.

"Oh yes, yesterday, part of the icecave collapsed. You know, the icecaves are unpredictable, and sometimes new caves formed. The guys are badly shaken up, that's why we always warn people who wants to go there...."

The voice slowly faded away, like a closing music piece on the radio....

The weather that day was great, as forecasted. I hiked a couple of beautiful trails. The glacier glowed blue.

But I was depressed. Am I destined not to be in an icecave under a glacier?

Beautiful hiking trail within the Mendenhall visitor center area.

Old forest and streams in the East Glacier Trail

Roving Light Travel Photography Image of the Day

Hi Everyone!
I've finally created and launched my Roving Light Travel Photography Facebook Page!
I know it should have been started earlier, but well, better late than never.

I will be posting images daily, and sharing the settings, story and my views on the Page, so if you like my travel images, please

Thanks in advance and see you there!

Online Printing Services at Gogoprint

One of the things I've dabbled in the past from my travel and photography interests is online printing services. For many years, I've used various online printing services to print calendars (using my images of course!) for my year-end Christmas gifts. I designed my own name cards and print them using online printing services instead of going to the shops. I've printed a couple of photobooks for my own keepsake. So when I was given the opportunity to review Gogoprint, it was game-on.

Gogoprint markets itself as the biggest Online Printing company in Southeast-Asia. It is currently active in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and from its website, I gather that for Singapore market, most of its products are printed in Malaysia and shipped to Singapore. Whatever the case, the important practical point is - it provides free shipping for all its products!

The Website

Simple & straightforward - just how I liked it

For an online printing service, its website is naturally an important aspect of its business - it is the interface to its clients and customers. The design is modern and straightforward - a ticker-scrolling-banner welcomes the visitors, followed by its products available and a graphical menu of instructions on how to use the website. Simple and effective and a good start as I hate messy and cluttered websites!

It is also mobile friendly, and consistent in its layout.

Looking at the 4 simple steps in using their service though, the first thing I noted was the difference in the payment step. In all my other online printing (and all online shopping for the matter) experiences, the payment is usually the final stage of the process. In Gogoprint's case, after choosing and configuring the product, you will be brought straight to the payment page (others I tried usually will be the upload files stage). Only after the payment, then you would be given a time frame to upload your artwork and files (the time frame is for Gogoprint to meet its production timelines). It is no biggie, just that its somewhat different from any of my other experiences. 

My main disappointment though, is its product list. As mentioned earlier, I had past experiences printing calendars, photobooks etc since I am a travel photographer and those are typical print jobs I needed. Sadly, those are not in Gogoprint's product lineup. For most businesses though, theirs seemed quite comprehensive. In any case, I decided to try the business cards, as well as postcards so that I could see its print quality on 2 different products.

The Process

Now, the entire process on how to utilize their service is in their Help Center, and in today's media-rich internet, they have wisely provided a nice set of videos.

They have also provided a very useful section on how to do up your artwork in order to get the best quality out of the print job, although I'm not sure why it's called "How to Close Artwork". From choosing the correct color mode, to setting bleed and margins, I thought it was a fantastic inclusion. Unfortunately, it seemed to be still work in progress, as the information is for Illustrator only (while I use Photoshop). Both Photoshop and InDesign sections are available but greyed out, so I guess it will eventually be there.

Only Illustrator Help is available while Photoshop and InDesign are greyed out

Really, the whole ordering process is so intuitive and straightforward, there's nothing much else to elaborate further. A thing I wanted to highlight was that a day after I submitted my artwork, I received a call from Gogoprint's staff. They actually called to verify some margin/bleed details in my artwork. It's great to know that my stuff are done by professional and responsible people!

The Product(s)

Gogoprint provides 1-day delivery for all its products, and indeed, I received my order promptly. It came in a SF Express plastic envelope.

My products arrived in a "SF Express" envelope

My business cards and postcards are lumped together inside the plastic envelope. While there was not much issue of my stuff being damaged while in transit with the 2 products "knocking" into each other, I wonder if a better padded envelope would be used for more fragile products (if any). In any case, I proceeded to check my order.

Since I have ordered business cards from elsewhere before, I have some frame of reference. I have ordered the cards using 310g Art Card with no finishing and the finished product is excellent!

There is a slight sheen over the cards even though I have chosen no finishing. I wonder if they have wrongly given me a free lamination "upgrade" or perhaps this is normal for the Art Card. Also, the colours and the black are richer than my previous business cards and I wonder if it was due to the information and tips in the "How to Close Artwork" section I mentioned earlier. I had followed some of the tips on how to handle my artfiles (like converting fonts and using CMYK etc, but applied using Photoshop), and things seemed to work out great! Whatever the case, I loved the end product :)

Gogoprint's printed business card on the right

As for the postcards, I was also happy with the end result. While I have not printed any postcards in the past, I obviously have seen many postcards, and mine seemed as professional as any of them. I've selected the 260g Art Card for this, and it does have that slight sheen as well.

Excellent quality postcards

Conclusion

I am overall quite pleased and impressed with both the finished products from Gogoprint. The whole process from start to finish was rather pleasant - A well-designed website to start off the experience, simple and effective ordering process, and excellent end products, inclusive of fast free shipping. I think their market focus is on corporate businesses, so they will not be doing products like photobooks, but I do hope they would offer printing of calendars one day. I would certainly use them!

They have a blog too that posts some useful articles and videos and I think occasionally they provide discounts too (currently, they have a 20% off first purchase). Their prices are quite competitive already, since the business cards I ordered was actually the same price as the one I printed locally. So, do check out Gogoprint when you have any printing needs!

FlexiroamX Giveaway!

If you have read my previous blog post about traveling with data SIM, you'll know that I was using Flexiroam X, which had been a godsend for me when traveling through multiple countries. Well, they will be updating and launching their new Flexiroam X App tomorrow (1 March 2017), and as part of the launch, they will be giving away two microchips FREE!

The new revamped App comes with new design and features, and the highlights include :

1. Login with one-click via Facebook, Google or Email

• Link account with Facebook to earn additional 400Mb data!

2. Referral link and Challenge

• You no longer need to key in referral code when you refer your family and friends to sign up - use a special referral link just for you
• Refer 5 friends in 24 hours and receive 1Gb of data! 

3. Internet Calls

• Make local or international calls to any mobile or landline over the internet using your data balance (available on 25 March 2017)

So, how do you win one of the Flexiroam X microchip SIM? And oh, BTW, it comes with 1Gb of data!! :) :)

Just answer the below question and send the answer to my email address by 15 Mar 2017 (SGT). Put the subject as "Flexiroamx contest" so that it's easier for me to administer. Thanks.

Question : Name one new/updated feature of the FlexiroamX App.


Only winners will be notified. Winners will have to provide their shipping address to receive the product.

Good luck!

PS. For those who are getting the microchip SIM and signing up, you can use my referral link to get an extra 100Mb of data free! Thanks!

Starry Starry Winter's Night

The trip is coming to an end.

I would be heading down the mountains and towards Lyon for my flight home, and I know these two nights in the Swiss Alps would be my final chance to have a go at some star trail shots.

I began my 3-month trip with some hope for taking some shots of the stars and even the Milky Way. The Peruvian Andes and Patagonia were prime targets. And I brought along a camera and lens specifically for it! Sadly, it was to be severely under-utilized. I did have a good clear night (on my final night!) during my trek in Peru that I managed to convince my worn-out body to stay up for the shoot.

Alas for Patagonia, the weather was rather unkind. The only night of perfect clear sky was also the supermoon night, which lit up both earth and sky. But at least for that, I have some supermoon shots.

The Galapagos Islands were supposedly great for night skywatching too. But even as I wandered off to the outskirts of town to less light-polluted areas, the showing was disappointing. And of course, throughout the trip, there were plenty of cloudy nights.

But tonight at the village of Gimmelwald, the stars twinkled seductively. Even though the moon was also out, and there were some wispy clouds, the stars were clearly out to entice me! There was just one tiny problem. It was a frosty -12 deg C.

Still, with my tripod and camera, I trudged half an hour out to a higher point, and after quite a few test and trial shots, I began my shoot. As I paced around a one-metre circle trying to keep warm, the cold winter's night silently takes its toll. It seemed like eternity, but actually worked out to be barely 20 minutes, when I finally caved-in. The clouds are coming in, I told myself, and sped-walk back to my guesthouse where I quickly bundled myself to bed.

In the past, taking star trail shots essentially entails opening the shutter until your desired duration. Nowadays though, most people use the image-stacking method, which basically merges a bunch sequentially-shot images. I am also still learning and exploring this, and as I was processing the images, I was cursing myself for not "enduring" longer. Easier said than done :|

So here's a first cut of the short star trail and my last "stars" shot of the trip. Definitely hope there will be opportunities for more in the future!

Star Trails over Gimmelwald and the Swiss Alps

Looong Flights.....

I finally arrived in Munich - exhausted but happy. I love traveling, but this is getting too literal.

My flight out of South America was with LATAM (a merger of LAN and TAM) airlines, and it was the cheapest flight out with 2 transits. From Buenos Aires (AEP) to Sao Paulo (GRU), to Madrid (MAD), and then to Munich (MUC).

A message came over the PA system just as I was about to get out of the plane in GRU after an almost 3-hr fight from AEP. It was past 10pm at night. All those connecting to MAD were to look for the LATAM ground staff outside. When I got out, a group of 15-20 people were gathered around a uniformed guy, who was talking away in rapid Spanish.

Another uniformed guy saw me and approached.

"You speak English?"

I nodded.

"Your flight is canceled."

I stood dumbfounded.

"The plane have problem. Another plane will fly tomorrow morning 10am. Now will you please collect your baggage and........"

His instructions and words sort of floated around my head while my brain could only process my own uncertainties.

What about my next connecting flight from MAD to MUC? What about my booked room in Munich? Would I lose a day? And other such variations.

I finally calmed myself and was given a formal letter on the flight cancellation/replacement. The group of us were issued a big red card that stated "Reboarding", which apparently allowed us to bypass immigration and went staight to the baggage claim area. I thought it would be some kind of controlled arrangement to a hotel within the airport but after claiming our luggage, we were told to catch an airport hotel shuttle at the public area outside. It appeared to be a "own time own target" operation.

Outside, there were a few bewildered looking persons which I recognized, and we found the right hotel shuttle. After waiting for everyone, the bus brought us to the airport hotel some 15 minutes away.

There were only a few situations in my travels that I am now in a country without having formally "stamped in". My last status in the interconnected airport systems of today, is that my passport got scanned and stamped out in Argentina. I am in a "limbo" state since I am not formally registered/stamped in any country. I could have got kidnapped or took a taxi to join a Sao Paulo mafia gang or something. But of course, all I wanted now was just to get some sleep.

The queue for checking in looked horrendously long. It was past 11pm, and as part of the arrangement, we got free buffet dinner, so I thought I'll have some free hotel food before checking myself in. After a quick dinner, I came out to find the queue twice as long! And then it occurred to me. Of course, when a flight got canceled, almost the entire flight passengers need to be accounted for. And these can come from various other incoming flights! So now it looked like passengers from an entire flight is checking in....

Should have continued queuing before I decided to go for dinner first

There is a first for everything, and it is the first time in my life that queuing to check-in in a hotel took me 2 hours! It was way past 2am when I finally got to lay on my bed.

And 3+ hours of fidgety sleep later, I woke up to catch the 6.30am shuttle back to the airport. More queuing for checking in ensued, and there and then, the LATAM staff managed to put me on the earliest connecting flight from MAD to MUC. My current flight from GRU to MAD takes 10hrs arriving at 12 midnight. The MAD to MUC flight is at 8am. I did not have a good feeling about this....
(Oh, I flashed the all-powerful red 'Reboarding' card, and sauntered through immigration. I am so keeping this card for future Brazil visits ;) :O :D )

Reboarding card ;)

Three movies and more fidgety sleep later, at almost 1am in MAD, it was deja-vu. This time though, I was rightfully stamped into Spain, but it was 3+am before my head hits the pillow :(. So I had only 2+hrs of sleep this time :( :(.

Well, things can't get any worse right? Well, Princess Leia just passed away :(.
But as for my journey, I finally arrived in Munich.

I left Buenos Aires Argentina on 27th Dec afternoon. I arrived in Munich Germany on 29th Dec afternoon. I am so happy to arrive. And New Year is gonna be just round the corner. Less news of deaths in 2017 ok?

Onward go!!

Wonderful morning alpenglow from the air! Last leg from MAD to MUC flight.

A Dream Revisited

Sometimes, when you have had an exceptional experience, the bar had been set to that exceptional level. Anything else will bound to fall short. And so it is with my trek to Laguna de los Tres.

Almost six years ago, when I did the trek in El Chalten, it was with 2 friends, and the weather was really quite good. An early morning alpenglow, followed by a pleasant day of trekking, and when it mattered, at the the Laguna itself with Mt Fitz Roy as backdrop, there was times of blue skies and serene reflections on the lake.

I had pretty much trekked the past 3+ hours in super windy and cloudy conditions. Never mind that, but as I reached the final part of the trek, the final 1km of rocky gravelly ascent, it started to drizzle. Things are looking wet and bleak. Somehow though, I was still very much anticipating the view when I would summit the ridge and gaze upon the sight I missed so much.

Perhaps it was age, but I didn't remember it was this exhausting. And the wind! It wasn't this strong back in March then. This is prime summer season, but it didn't looked or felt like it. I trudged on, water droplets drenching my face, and angry wind slapping it at whim.

Grey cloudy skies on the ascent

And drizzling as well!

And when I finally reached the top, it was ..... underwhelming, truth be told. Laguna de los Tres was unsettled, as waves of ripples washed across its surface, dancing in sync with the wind. Dark clouds churned around Mt Fitz Roy, with the sun valiantly trying to shine through. It was a tumultuous scene completely different from my first encounter. But still, memories come flashing back.

Very windy day!

Making the best of the situation

I had wrongly chose to come for sunset. The sun is setting behind the mountains and if it had been a good sunny day, there possibly still would have been phenomenal light. But the day was characterized by grey cloudy skies, and the poor sun had been just a pale shadow (ha!) of its glorious self.

I made my way down to the lagoon, and up to the other crest that will overlook another lagoon, Laguna Sucia, as well as Laguna de los Tres. And it was here at this elevated point that I encountered the windiest experience of my life. I have encountered 3 times in my travels where I was literally blown off-balance by the wind, staggering a few steps by the force. Once in Chilean Patagonia (near Glacier Grey), once in Iceland, and once in Antarctica. It seemed Argentine Patagonia would not be outdone.

I was bracing myself for some photos when it started. Gale force winds that buffeted me in all directions, quite literally. I tried to seek refuge behind a rock half my size, but to no avail. But I must looked a comical figure leaning and circling a rock in a half squatting position. But every position is the same! In the end, I just leaned on the rock for support, and waited.

I withstood more than 5 minutes of pummeling by the wind before there was some reprieve. I thought I would use the chance to try to take some more photos. I "ventured" to a position away from the rock that allowed a good shot of both lagunas, but before I could really compose anything, the wild winds came on again, screaming like a mad banshee. It was so strong and relentless that I was immobile, literally fighting against the wind to stay upright; a mere lifting of a leg to make a step would surely topple my stance. And it would seem I was losing the fight! I resorted to crouching on all fours. For the briefest of moments, I had some horrifying thoughts. But all I had to do was wait, and it was a good 3-4 minutes before it died down. I contemplated going back to my "rock" to review my situation, but decided to go back down. After all, the images I take would be similar to the ones I took during my last trip, and in worse lighting conditions.

It was only 8pm, and "sunset" was supposed to be 10.30pm. There were but 2 persons left on site and looking at the clouds and the insane winds, I didn't think it would be sane nor fruitful to wait. It was mission aborted, but as I descended down the rocky slope, there wasn't any real disappointment. I think I had been lucky on my first visit, and even on this trip, I had a day of glorious weather. Today, I was just being presented with the real and realistic Patagonia.

And I am back in Patagonia after 5 1/2 years! A dream destination revisited. How can one be disappointed?!

Traveling with DATA

Traveling, backpacking, and wandering the world today is markedly different, with the Internet inevitably an integral part. And even travel with the Internet has changed quite abit over the years, from the visits to internet cafes, to the widespread availability of Wifi, and then now the widespread availability (and general affordability) of mobile data SIM cards.

These data SIM cards have eased travel quite abit, with the use of Goggle maps and booking of accommodation and tickets on-the-go etc. More importantly for me, it has eased the communications with couchsurfing/airbnb hosts and hostels/guesthouses etc. However, on long trips through multiple countries, sometimes it may not be practical nor cost-effective to get multiple SIM cards. And the data roaming solutions currently are not exactly cheap.

Recently, I came across something on my preparation for a 3-month trip to Europe and South America. It's a "virtual" SIM data-roaming solution from Flexiroam called FlexiroamX. It is an ultra-thin microchip film that you apply onto your own SIM card, and together with an app which you can download from their website, it will provide data roaming to over 100 countries!

I contacted Flexiroam and received a review set. Indeed, the X Microchip (that's what they call it) is literally a sticker that comes with an applicator that help you to stick it onto your SIM card. It is just 0.08mm thin, and so after sticking it on, my nano-SIM could still slot into my iPhone. It was quite amazing that a chip is made into so thin. It works on all sized SIMs though in their FAQ, they state that it will not work on those nano-SIM that has been "cut" from micro/regular SIM. The whole process is simple and to see how the microchip sticker looks like, you can see it in their tutorial on their website which I embed below. Photos I took were left on my home computer, forgetful me!

I am now one month into my trip and I find their solution perfect and most cost-effective for my uses. For a start, I am not a data-hungry user/traveler. I also don't require myself to be always connected. As it turns out, this is not exactly a "always-on" solution. Basically, to use the virtual SIM, you need to switch to it via the app. Once you switched to the FlexiroamX SIM, your own SIM becomes dormant, so you will not be able to receive SMS etc. You can switch between the SIMs anytime you want. This is different from phones with dual SIM slots where you can use voice/sms on your own SIM and data on the other SIM slot.

For me, I use Wifi in my accommodations or cafes/restaurants whenever I have access to them. The FlexiroamX SIM is switched to only for those times when I need data and there's no wifi. As I'm an avid travel instagrammer, there are times where a scene is screaming to be shared immediately and I'm glad I have roaming data! ;).

Nature's Sculpture #travel #northernireland #giantscauseway #unesco #nature #basalt #sculpture #artwork #ShotOniPhone7plus

A photo posted by Wu S.O (@rovinglight) on Oct 22, 2016 at 2:48am PDT

Beautiful Hiking Trail #travel #manteigas #portugal #serradaestrela #serraestrela #hikingtrail #autumnwalks #ShotOniPhone7plus #rovinglight

A photo posted by Wu S.O (@rovinglight) on Nov 4, 2016 at 4:52am PDT

This solution was especially useful for iPhone users like me, since (sadly) iPhone do not come with dual SIM slots. So previously, when I do get a local country data SIM, I had to put my home SIM in a spare phone or physically switch SIM when needed!

As mentioned previously, this solution was perfect and cost-effective for me but not just because of the single SIM slot limitation. Generally, the best value data SIM is one from an operator from that country. However, when traveling to multiple countries in a single trip, getting multiple SIM cards is not just a hassle, but probably not cost-effective as well. So when I went from Ireland to Portugal etc, I am "data-covered" without having to look for new SIM cards or physically swapping cards. You need to subscribe to their membership before using the data but the subscription last for a year, so again, perfect for long trippers like me... :p. Well, even if you don't go multiple countries in a trip but frequently travel to many countries, it's still valid. For the past 3+ weeks in Europe, I've only used 200+Mb of data. Even if my trip ends now, my remaining data is still valid for my next trip! If I had gotten local SIM cards, most of them would be wasted.....

So for those who are in similar situation as me, check out FlexiroamX on how to get started.
In summary,

• download their app (of course both IOS and Android supported) and register an account 
• get their Starter Pack containing the X Microchip, which is free but you gotta pay for shipping (US$5) but I think you can get it in KL airport
• stick on the microchip when you receive it
• activate their membership subscription (US$9.99 for a year)
• start using (switching to it) when you need it when you are overseas

More importantly, now they have some promotions to earn free data (700Mb worth!). Otherwise, you have to buy their data packs but free is always better :). In summary,

• when you register an account with them, you get 100Mb data
• if you use my referral code 3DR23XRY, you (and me) get 100Mb of data 
• Use this code 'SAVEONROAMING' in the app (valid till end of year) to get 500Mb of data. This is obtained from their blog post here.

You can monitor their blog or Facebook page for more promotions and codes (I've done one for you). You can also earn yourself more data by using your own referral code of course. And remember their membership last a year, so after earning the free data, activate the membership closer to your trip date to maximize the membership!

Enjoy!