Driving through the Lofoten in Winter

It is not often that I have a driving road-trip with friends, and it was by a stroke of luck that I had managed to get two friends to join me on a short part of my Norway trip - the Lofoten islands.

The Lofoten is an archipelago well beyond north of the Arctic Circle, and is famed for its natural beauty of mountains, seas, bays and islets. In summer, it is popular for hiking as well as boat trips and water-based activities. In winter, things die down quite a bit though, with alot of tourist facilities closing or operating at very limited hours. However, it is a wonderful location for Aurora hunting. In addition, the winter scenery is just phenomenally spectacular. and so appreciating it on your own terms in your own transport is probably the best bet.

The easiest and fastest way to the Lofoten is flying into Svolvaer, the administrative centre for most of the Lofoten. My friends flew in (from Oslo) and by their accounts, the flight in was absolutely beautiful. I flew from Oslo to Narvik (on mainland Norway) instead, on Norwegian, a low-cost airline, and then took a bus in. The bus journey to Svolvaer to meet my friends had me glued to the window already. For those who prefer to do overland travel from Oslo, you can take the train from Oslo to Bodo, and then take a ferry. Finally, if you find yourself in Kiruna Sweden, getting to Lofoten is also easy. Get onto the Arctic Circle Train, and then bus in. You'll be spell-bound on all segments of your journey!

Bussing in the Lofoten in winter

We rented a car in Svolvaer, and then drove around the islands. It was arguably one of the most beautiful drive trips I had. If you ever have the opportunity, and love winterscapes, do check it out. In the meantime, enjoy a timelapse snippet of our drive through Lofoten in winter! (Remember to maximise the youtube screen :) )

Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is a famous stretch of road in south eastern Australia, and is one of the most popular drive trips for that region. One of the highlights along the journey is the Twelve Apostles, and some drive through just for that. So while the Great Ocean Road can be done in 5 hours, me and my friends went through it in 5 days.


Well known as a scenic coastal drive, a large portion of the road hugs the coastline. However, besides just coastal views, there are many other interesting stops along the way.

Lorne, a beach town popular with tourists, has other attractions including nice forest walks as well as Erskine Falls, a pretty waterfall not far from Lorne.




Further down, you'll drive through the Great Otway National Park, housing temperate rainforests and temporarily hiding the coast from view. There is also Cape Otway Lighthouse, Australia's oldest operating lighthouse till it was decommissioned in 1994.



And as you go further westward along the Great Ocean Road, there are other rock formations besides the Twelve Apostles : Island Arch, Blowhole Gorge, and London Bridge (which has fallen down) etc. And of course, lots of beaches.

So, when you do go for the Great Ocean Road drive, do it slowly and enjoy the journey!!

Fraser's Hill

I last went Fraser's Hill more than 10 years ago. So, there was a certain amount of anticipation on what haved changed, or how much have changed. While things like infrastructure and facilities seems to have improved, Fraser's Hill or Bukit Fraser remains an idyllic and relaxing place to retreat to for a short weekend getaway.



Fraser's Hill is a hill (1500+m) situated in Pahang state of Peninsula Malaysia. Because of its height, it is relatively cooling most of the time and makes a great getaway from the heat of the lowlands. Besides several big resorts, there are smaller bungalows and cottages which are very pretty and full of ambience. There are walks/treks to be had, flowers to be admired, and birds to be watched. In fact, Fraser's Hill is quite a well-known haunt for birders and nature photographers. And after the day's activities, you could just relax in an old English style cafe, known as Ye Olde Smokehouse, and enjoy its tea and scones. It provides accommodations as well, and when I was there, they were fully booked by a group of 40 bikers coming from Singapore!



For transportation, Fraser's Hill is best visited using private transport. It is about 6 hours drive from Singapore, and do note that The Gap is still in operation. It is a one-lane road leading up to the town centre, and there is an alternate hour mode of operation for uphill and downhill traffic. There was supposed to be an alternate route up, but due to landslides on that road, The Gap is back in operation. Lots of materials on the Net, so just gather a few friends and retreat away to this idyllic location!