The sun was just rising over the Laotian jungle. Mist still blanketed the Nam Khan River. It was cool out. The sun glowed through the mist, providing  an eerie morning.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a medieval walled village in Bavaria, Germany. Its' beautiful 17th century architecture and romantic atmosphere draws visitors from all over the world.

Rothenburg’s streets are lined with quaint rows of houses, many of which date back to the medieval period.

I’ve lived here all my life, but never had I seen so much color in Singapore – bright orange columns against the dirty cream of signs reading “Internet Café, 24 hours” with blinking neon arrows. As I walked towards the ethnic neighbourhood of Little India, the gravel beneath my sneakers slowly fell away to a tessellation of orange diamonds, and the public housing shrank to traditional shophouses, standing in full glory from red windows, to turquoise walls, and striped patio blinds.

I see Rimas coming and hurry towards him. Rimas is an interesting man, and I am glad to see that he has come to meet us. Yesterday while we were having dinner at his house in Lithuania, he invited us to come and have a look around his prosectorium (lab where he dissects bodies) in the Vilnius University. He had served us delicious soup that tasted sweet but a little tangy, and the taste is still lingering in my mouth even now, the next morning.

Late September and early October are ideal months to visit Madrid.  But leave the world famous Prado Museum for later.  Instead, journey to picturesque hinterlands to wine and dine among the vines.

It is grape harvest time in Spain, a time when vineyards outside Madrid become a wine lover’s destination.  Unlike the iconic Rioja wine region in northern Spain, these vineyards are a “diamond in the rough” on Madrid’s outskirts. 

Much like how traveling with your family can be troublesome, vacationing with them can be just as bad.