The Festival of Roses

Somewhere between the High Atlas mountains and the Dades valley of Morocco lies El-Kelaa M'gouna. Every year in spring, waves of tourists and locals will converge here for the Festival of Roses.


Also known as Vallee des Roses, or the Valley of Roses, the area is known for its production of rosewater. The pink Persian rose, also known as the Damascus Rose, will be harvested during this period when the valley floor is filled with them. However, these roses are relatively small in their hedges, so they may not be easily noticed initially, esp when you are on the main road. If you expect to see "fields of pink", you may be disappointed like me. But they are big in their importance as they provide the main income to the people of the area.



The Festival is supposedly held over 3 days over in the 1st weekend of May, but it really is not fixed. A parade will be held on Sat in the town, where it will pass through the main road. Floats and performances will be the main entertainment. The winners of the Miss Rose pageant, selected the day before, will be one of the highlights of the parade, together with a "Queen" of some sort. After the parade, the whole town essentially becomes a giant carnival and souk, and the whole local community enjoying what it seems like a rare holiday opportunity.



Most details of transportation and accommodation are highlighted in the various guidebooks. If you are in the area during May, check out the Festival of Roses. The Damascus Rose is indeed sweet smelling!

Wynyard Tulip Festival

Most people would associate Tulip Festival with the Dutch kind, but there are other similar festivals elsewhere in the world. One such place is Wynyard, a town in north-west Tasmania.



Held in October (that'll be spring in the southern hemisphere), Wynyard hosts the annual festivities with plenty of celebrations and fun. There will be parades, games, food - the town literally becomes a carnival. There'll be plenty of children all around, either joining the parading floats, or lining the streets watching the fun. There is even a game competition, called the Tulip Tossing competition! The person who throws a stalk of tulip furthest wins the competition! Who'd have thought of that?



In the surrounding countryside of Wynyard, there're a number of tulip farms. However, the year I went, spring was late, so we didn't get to see the full bloom. Nevertheless, it was still quite a pretty sight, and definitely worth a road trip! Especially if you love flowers in bloom!

Stirling Range National Park

Most Singaporean travellers I know visiting Western Australia and Perth would inevitably do the coastal road trip down to Margaret River wine region, and probably all the way south to Albany. This is really a great route to do, and one I did and enjoyed tremendously. However, there is another place well worth visiting in that region, and that is Stirling Range National Park.


There is another route down to Albany from Perth - an inland highway, that passes by a park known as Stirling Range National Park. The best time to visit is spring, where flowers of all kind bloom. There are, of course, hiking opportunities in the park, and thus, with the abundance of flowers along the hiking trail, makes for a really enjoyable "walk in the park"! :)



There are accommodations in the Park itself, which is recommended if you want to enjoy the full day in the park instead of commuting to nearby towns. An example is here. If you are planning a driving circuit down southern WA, esp in spring, then this is definitely a good stopover. You start from Perth and come down via the inland road to Stirling Range, enjoy a couple of days here, and continue down to Albany and from there, do your usual route back upwards via the coastal Margaret River region. If you are a wine and flower person, you have the best of both worlds! :)

Sakura season!

Hanami, or sakura viewing is a huge event in Japan and not just for the locals. Tons of tourists will throng the parks, and photographers go ga-ga. Sakura season usually start from end March to early April, with usually 1 week of full bloom or mankai. Part of the challenge in planning a trip to Japan for sakura is the logistics of airtickets and accommodation at the right time!

Considering that the top camera brands like Nikon and Canon hail from Japan, it's no wonder that the Japanese's passion for photography is apparent, especially during this season.
There is the young and the old ....


... and there's SLRs to camera phones...


.. and when it come to the poses, it's not the subjects but the photographers that are a sight!!!


Sakura season is a top draw in Japan, and rightly so. It was one of my most memorable experience in Japan walking through a sakura filled park!

Seasons

First and foremost, for those who're born today, a very special Happy Birthday to you!
I mean, you only get to hear this like once every 4 years, it's gotta be special right?!

So enjoy the day!!

Well, one thing I can't enjoy as a Singaporean is the 4 seasons of the year. They say in Singapore, you only have 3 seasons - hot, hotter, hottest!! This makes an excellent excuse to travel, yah? Well, almost. I really wish to experience the changing of the seasons in a year - as in, experiencing the full cycle of nature's transformations in a country. Sure, there are practical realities of life in the 4 seasons, from the summer flies to shoveling of snow outside your house. But still, I wish....

In the meantime, as I've mentioned in one of my previous posts, the right season at the right places could really make a difference between a good trip and a fantastic trip! So, here's a recommendation of 4 seasons in 4 different countries :

Spring in Western Australia, where the wildflowers bloom, and the air is fresh and young!


Summer on the Mongolian steppes, where the expanse of sky and land merges, and the horses and your spirit run free!


Autumn in Xinjiang China, where pretty villages pass through time untouched


Winter in Hokkaido Japan, where the cold bites you, but the scenaries warm your heart and soul