Cliff(y) Goes Travelling

Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand Right in the heart of Auckland lies the city's oldest park, which is one of its largest green spaces. Spanning around 75 hectares, the park was developed around the crater of an extinct volcano. Beyond its expansive lawns and walking paths, it's also home to several notable attractions, such as Auckland War Memorial Museum and Wintergardens.

Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Daily: 7.30am - 5.30pm Transitioning from the grey stone and solemn silence of the Shrine of Remembrance , I crossed Birdwood Avenue and found myself stepping into the lush, calming embrace of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Spanning over 38 hectares, it's more than just a park. It's a living museum that offers a peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city.

332 Prospect Street, Niagara Falls, New York, USA Aside from the Schengen area, my international land border crossings were limited to Singapore - Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Hong Kong - Shenzhen, China and Macau - Zhuhai, China prior to this trip. With the Niagara Falls straddling the international border, a simple bridge crossing took me from the Canadian side to the USA, adding another experience to my travel repertoire.

Wakayama City, Wakayama, Japan Wakayama City is the capital and the largest of the nine cities of the prefecture bearing the same name. On average, it takes just about an hour by train from Osaka, and an hour and a half from Kyoto. The area occupied by the city was the centre of the ancient Kii Province (紀伊国), from which the Japanese bookshop chain Kinokuniya (紀伊国屋) derives its name.

Nara, Japan A public park located at the foot of Mount Wakakusa, Nara Park is a captivating blend of natural beauty, cultural richness and enchanting wildlife. Established in 1880, the expansive park that sprawls over 500 hectares is renowned for its friendly inhabitants: over 1,200 free-roaming sika deer that's native to much of East Asia.

Southern end of Mehdi Huseyn Street, Baku, Azerbaijan Located on the highest point in the capital city, Highland Park is a terrace that offers the most fabulous panorama of Baku and the world's largest inland body of water, the Caspian Sea. It's also home to Martyrs' Lane, a memorial and cemetery dedicated to national heroes and civilians who perished during turbulent times in Azerbaijan.

Mandai Road, Singapore Did you know that the demand for water in Singapore exceeds the total volume of more than 750 Olympic-sized swimming pools? Water from local catchment areas is a pillar of our sustainable water supply. Upper Seletar Reservoir is one of the 17 reservoirs designated as national water catchment areas at the point of writing, managed by the Public Utilities Board.

155 Longjin West Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China Daily: 6.00am - 10.30pm Located in the bustling Liwan (lit. Lychee Bay) district of Guangzhou, Liwan Lake Park is a beautiful park comprising four lakes. Besides being a venue for various cultural activities in the old quarter of Guangzhou, it's a comprehensive park that includes facilities like swimming pool and gym.

424 Ishikawa, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan As mentioned in the previous post , Japan's best aquarium is the centrepiece of Ocean Expo Park that's located on the tip of Motobu Peninsula in northern Okinawa, which is about 90 km away from Naha. Of course, there are many other attractions that one can look forward at the large park that stretches about 3 km along the coast.

5-20 Uenokoen, Taito, Tokyo, Japan Daily: 5.00am - 11.00pm Ueno Park, which is officially named Ueno Onshi Park, is a spacious park located right next to Ueno railway station in central Tokyo. It was established in 1873, making it one of Japan's five oldest public parks. Besides being a highly popular spot to view sakura (lit. cherry blossom) trees, it also houses a few temples, museums and a zoo.

11 Naitomachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan Daily: 7.00am - 4.00pm (winter) or 5.30pm (spring/fall) or 6.30pm (summer) Thanks for staying tuned to my coverage of Shinjuku Gyoen, one of Tokyo's largest and most popular parks. In Part 2, we shall look into its French formal garden and greenhouse. As a recap, Part 1 covers about mainly Mother and Child's Forest, Japanese traditional garden and English landscape garden.

11 Naitomachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan Daily: 7.00am - 4.00pm (winter) or 5.30pm (spring/fall) or 6.30pm (summer) Shinjuku Gyoen is a large national park under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan that covers an area of 58.3 hectares. Spanning across the present Shinjuku and Shibuya wards of Tokyo, it was originally the residence of a feudal lord known as Lord Naito of Tsuruga during the Edo period.

Musashino and Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan Inokashira Park is an expansive park located in western Tokyo that was declared open in 1917 as the first sub-urban park in Japan. Spread across an area of around 38 hectares, it straddles two cities - Musashino and Mitaka. In addition to a zoo, it's also home to the highly sought after Ghibli Museum that was officially opened in the last quarter of 2001.

2-1 Yoyogikamizonocho, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan Daily: 24 hours One of the largest city parks in Tokyo, Yoyogi Park is located adjacent to Harajuku railway station and not far from  Meiji Jingu . Before turning into a park, the site had seen a few recorded historical events, beginning with the first successful powered aircraft in the Land of the Rising Sun taking flight on 19 December 1910.

2-2 Hatobacho, Chuo, Kobe, Japan Built on a reclaimed land, Meriken Park is Kobe's most popular waterfront park. Once devastated by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, it's now home to some of the iconic landmarks of the port city. The word 'Meriken' was how the Japanese referred to an American during the Meiji period, simply because there used to be a US Consulate General near the park.

[Hypocenter Park] 5 Matsuyamamachi, Nagasaki, Japan The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: many of us have probably heard about it from our History class. On 9 August 1945, the USA dropped a plutonium implosion bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" at the place which is now known as Hypocenter Park in Nagasaki. Not far from it is Peace Park that was established 10 years later to commemorate the grievous event.

Fuchimachi, Nagasaki, Japan Rising 333 m above sea level, Mount Inasa is located on the western side of the city of Nagasaki. The observatory at the summit offers a spectacular view of the thriving port city and its surrounding areas, especially the so-called "10 Million Dollar Night View" that's considered to be not only one of the best three in Japan, but also in the world.

1 Ohorikoen, Chuo, Fukuoka, Japan Located to the west of Maizuru Park , Ohori Park is an equally pleasant park with a large pond at its centre. The Japanese word ohori means 'moat', and the park is so named as the pond once served as part of the moat system of the neighbouring Fukuoka Castle.

1 Jonai, Chuo, Fukuoka, Japan Maizuru Park is the site of the ruins of Fukuoka Castle, which was also called Maizuru Castle. The best time to visit is usually between late March and early April, as the park is known to be the city's most pleasant spot for cherry blossom viewing. In autumn, you can see the beautiful colours of the ginkgo trees.

101 Mountain Avenue, Banff, Alberta, Canada Daily: 8.00am - 11.00pm If you're looking for a place to escape from the crowds in Banff Downtown and smell the flowers, look no further than Cascades of Time Garden. The tranquil terraced garden, which underwent a  C$2.6 million (~S$2.68 million)  redevelopment project that was completed in mid-2018, is located across Bow River Bridge.