Archive - All Articles

Sun Moon Lake 日月潭, Taiwan.

Walk by the Waters: Shuishe Pier 水社码头 of Sun Moon Lake 日月潭, Taiwan

mylivingmylife July 31, 2024

One of Taiwan’s most popular tourist attractions, Sun Moon Lake 日月潭 is a scenic 90-minute drive from Taichung 台中 city, the closest major city. The area is perfect for short-day trips from Taichung.
How did Sun Moon Lake get its name? Well, Sun Moon Lake surrounds a tiny island called Lalu. On the eastern side of the Island Lalu, the lake is shaped like a round sun, and on the western side, the lake is shaped like a crescent moon. That was how it was called Sun Moon Lake.

Read More »
Maritime Plaza 海洋广场 overlooking Keelung Harbour 基隆港, Keelung 基隆, Taiwan.

Walk by the Waters: Keelung 基隆 Waterfront, Taiwan

mylivingmylife July 17, 2024

Keelung 基隆, located in the Northwest of Taiwan, along with Kaohsiung 高雄 in the south, are the two major port cities in Taiwan.
With a population of more than 350,000, Keelung is itself a popular tourist destination because of its many historic sites and buildings, its proximity to beautiful coastlines and mountains, as well as its good food. Yehliu Geopark 野柳地质公园, Heping Island GeoPark 和平岛地质公园, Baimiweng Fort 白米瓮炮台, Dawulun Fort 大武仑炮台, Miaokou Night Market 庙口夜市, and Ren’ai Market 仁愛市场 are just some of the attractions in and around Keelung.
Keelung is an hour from Taipei by train or car and that makes Keelung a perfect day trip destination from Taipei.

Read More »
River Foreshore Reserve walking paths, Parramatta, Sydney.

Walk by the Waters: Parramatta River Foreshore

mylivingmylife July 3, 2024

Parramatta River starts at the confluence of Darling Mills Creek and Toongabbie Creek just north of Cumberland Hospital. The river flows past Cumberland Hospital and flows through Parramatta Park and River Foreshore Reserve in Parramatta.
Parramatta River is fresh water up to the Charles Street Weir, which is located upstream just before Parramatta Wharf, approximately 30 km to the Sydney Heads. From Parramatta Wharf, the downstream river becomes gradually saltier as it is closer to the ocean.

Read More »
Kings Pier Marina with a cruise ship docking at Macquarie Wharf Cruise Ship Terminal in the background at Hobart Waterfront.

Walk by the Waters: Hobart Waterfront

mylivingmylife June 19, 2024

Located in the south-east of Tasmania island and by the River Derwent at the foothills of the majestic Mount Wellington, Tasmania’s capital city Hobart is a beautiful and vibrant port city. Nearly 300,000, around 65% of Tasmania’s population, live in Greater Hobart.
The summit of the 1271m-tall Mount Wellington is only within a 30-minute drive from the city centre and can be seen from every corner of Hobart city.

Read More »
The beach of Clifton Gardens Reserve, Chowder Bay, Sydney.

Walk by the Waters: Sydney Chowder Bay

mylivingmylife June 5, 2024

A 25-minute drive northeast of Sydney CBD, Chowder Bay is on the shoreline of the Sydney suburb of Mosman. Clifton Gardens Reserve, located by the coast of Chowder Bay, is where families head for picnics, swimming, and other sea sports.
Chowder Bay has some very charming eateries that have views of Sydney Harbour and the coastal suburb Vaucluse over the water of Sydney Harbour.

Read More »
Stunning view of 3 Sydney landmarks - Circular Quay, Harbour Bridge, and Opera House, from Cahill Lookout located above the Circular Quay Train Station.

Walk by the Waters: Sydney Circular Quay

mylivingmylife May 22, 2024

Circular Quay, located right at the end of Sydney’s CBD, is one of Australia’s most visited destinations. Residents and tourists can come to Circular Quay by ferry, light rail, train, and bus. Being a major transport interchange makes Circular Quay a great base to explore the city on public transport. Circular Quay has 5 commuter ferry wharves with daily regular ferry services to Parramatta, Manly, Taronga Zoo, Watsons Bay, and other popular Sydney destinations.

Read More »
Manly Dam, also known as Manly Warringah War Memorial Park, is in Manly Sydney.

Walk by the Waters: Sydney Manly Dam

mylivingmylife May 8, 2024

Manly Dam is also known as Manly Warringah War Memorial Park. Located within the suburb of Manly in Sydney and constructed in 1892, Manly Dam had been decommissioned as a water supply dam since the 1930s. Now heritage-listed and still owned by Sydney Water, Manly Dam is mainly known for its beautiful freshwater lake, and pretty bushland, popular with families, hikers, and mountain bikers. The freshwater lake created by the dam is the largest freshwater lake in Sydney.

Read More »
A sporting event on a Sunday at Manly Beach, Sydney.

Walk by the Waters: Sydney Manly Waterfronts

mylivingmylife April 24, 2024

Manly, located on a peninsula 15km northeast of Sydney CBD, is a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney. With a population of around 43,000, Manly is actually also a very popular tourist destination.
From Sydney CBD, the best public transport to get to Manly is the regular Circular Quay-Manly Wharf ferry services. The short 30-minute ferry ride is one of the most scenic ferry rides offering incredibly stunning views of Sydney Harbour and the coastal suburbs around Sydney Harbour.
Manly is the gateway to the Northern Beaches. Every year, there are more than 8 million visitors from all over Australia and the world visit Manly and the Northern Beaches, drawn by the beautiful beaches, cosmopolitan buzz, cafes and restaurants, and cultural and sporting events.
Manly has 2 distinctly different waterfronts: the southwest-facing beaches within the calmer waters of the North Harbour and the northeast-facing 3 km long Manly Beach facing the South Pacific Ocean. The 2 waterfronts are amazingly only 400m from each other.

Read More »
Nelson Bay Boat Harbour of Nelson Bay in New South Wales is a 1-hour drive northeast of Newcastle.

Walk by the Waters: Nelson Bay Foreshore, New South Wales Australia

mylivingmylife March 13, 2024

Located just inside the mouth of Port Stephens, the coastal town of Nelson Bay is the largest town in the Port Stephens area with a population of just over 6000.
Nelson Bay’s large natural harbour has made Nelson Bay the commercial centre of Port Stephens and a town with a high concentration of cafés, restaurants, entertainment and leisure offerings, and retail shops. Nelson Bay’s D’Albora Marina is visited by yachts and cruisers from around the world, and it is where visitors take dolphin and whale watching cruises and ferries to tour around Port Stephens Bay, which is within the Port Stephens Great Lakes Marine Park.

Read More »
Beautiful views of West Lake (西湖) from the top of Xiling Seal Engraver’s Society (西泠印社) in Hangzhou (杭州) China.

Walk by the Waters: Xiling Seal Engraver’s Society (西泠印社) overlooking West Lake (西湖) in Hangzhou (杭州) China

mylivingmylife February 14, 2024

Xiling Seal Engraver’s Society (西泠印社) is located on the largest island in West Lake (西湖) – Gushan (孤山). Gushan connects the lake shore by Xiling Bridge (西泠桥) and Bai Causeway (白堤) and is on the Hop-on-hop-off round-the-lake sightseeing car route. Xiling Seal Engraver’s Society site is actually a compact yet refined and elegant exquisitely landscaped garden on a 38m tall hill overlooking West Lake.

Read More »
The Night of City Balcony (城市阳台), Hangzhou (杭州) China.

Walk by the Waters: Qiantang River (钱塘江), Hangzhou (杭州) China

mylivingmylife January 31, 2024

The 589km long Qiantang River (钱塘江) is the largest in Zhejiang (浙江) Province. Qiantang River actually refers to the downstream Hangzhou section of the river whereas the upstream section of the river is named Fuchun River (富春江). The famous “Qiantang River Big Wave” (钱塘江大潮) is a natural wonder of the world caused by the interactions of gravitational pulls of the seawater by the Sun and the Moon, the Earth’s rotation, and topography of the Qiantang River and Hangzhou Bay.

Read More »
West Lake (西湖) in the late autumn early winter when trees turn autumn’s bright yellow.

Walk by the Waters: West Lake (西湖), Hangzhou (杭州) China

mylivingmylife January 17, 2024

The 6.4km2 West Lake has a perimeter of around 15km. West Lake is actually very shallow, with an average depth of 1.5m. The deepest part of the lake is around 3m.
West Lake is divided into sections by Su Causeway (苏堤) which runs in the north-south direction across the lake and Bai Causeway (白堤) in the northern part of the lake. The causeways, lined by trees and flowerbeds, 4 man-made islands on the lake, as well as the many pagodas, temples, pavilions, gardens, and bridges, make West Lake so uniquely scenic in different ways in different seasons and in different weather conditions.

Read More »
Hillarys Boat Harbour’s dolphin sculptures commemorating Rajah, Mila, and Echo – 3 much-loved bottlenose dolphins.

Walk by the Waters: Hillarys Foreshore, Perth

mylivingmylife January 3, 2024

A short 25-minute drive north of Perth CBD, Hillarys foreshore is a beautiful coastal area where Hillarys Boat Harbour, Hillarys Marina, Hillarys Marina Lighthouse, Hillarys Marina Beach, Hillarys Yacht Club, and Western Australia’s only underwater aquarium – AQWA, are located.

Read More »
Cascading water walls in the Roma Street Parkland, Brisbane.

Walk by the Waters: Roma Street Parkland, Brisbane

mylivingmylife December 20, 2023

The 16-hectare Roma Street Parkland is located within a short walk from Brisbane city. Opened in 2001 after over 100,000 shrubs, 1200 mature trees, 1800 unique species of plants, and 250 ferns were planted, the Parkland is an inner-city green oasis built within a concrete jungle, an excellent getaway for people working in the Brisbane city.

Read More »
The Cheap Solar Energy Could be Even Cheaper (Graphics created on www.canva.com)

The Cheap Solar Energy Could be Even Cheaper

mylivingmylife December 6, 2023

The costs of solar energy, both in terms of total installed costs and solar panel costs, have been coming down in the last 20 or so years. The dramatic price drop of solar energy has made solar energy the world’s cheapest source of power currently. It is no wonder that solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity has increased almost 12 times from 72 gigawatts (GW) in 2011 to 843 GW in 2021.

Read More »