Day 2 [28th Oct]: Taipei

I started my second day proper by heading to the MRT station and purchasing a 2-day tourist pass for NT$310. The tourist pass allows unlimited travel on MRT and also selected buses and the pass ends on 23:59 of the second day rather than 48 hours from purchase time. Still, it's really worth it if you intend to take lots of MRT rides in 2 days.

After getting the pass, I took the MRT to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall and had breakfast in the vicinity. Breakfast was simple, but tastes great and costs just NT$45. That's very cheap if you compare to Singapore standards!

 

Finale of Japan Trip 2013 [12th to 13th June]

It has been a long trip but time sure flies past and my holiday in Japan is coming to an end. It feels as if there are still several more places I want to visit in Japan, e.g. Hokodate, Jozenkei, Furano, Noboribetsu, Himeji and more places in central Japan also. After packing my luggage, I went to the train station and looked for paid lockers to keep my luggage while I go shopping/eating. With 1 suitcase, 1 backpack, 1 more luggage bag and another cloth bag, it sure was a challenge to squeeze everything into the locker.

Day 16 [10th June]: Otaru

Part of my itinerary in Hokkaido is to go to Otaru, so I took the train to Otaru at 10am+ hoping to grab my brunch in Otaru. After about 45 minutes of normal train ride and enjoying the nice scenic journey, I reached Otaru Station and collected some brochures at the train station before proceeding to search for food.

Day 14 [8th June]: Tokyo to Sapporo

My flight to Sapporo is at 3:25pm, so I checked out of the hotel at about 11am to make my way to Narita Airport. I took the inexpensive Keisei Limited Express to the airport and it costs ¥1,000. I reached the airport a little earlier than the check-in time, so I had to wait awhile before I could check-in. After checking in, I went to a restaurant to have my lunch.

Day 13 [7th June]: Tokyo

I left the hotel slightly later today to avoid the peak hour train crowd and went to Tsukiji Fish Market again for my breakfast. I decided to buy the 1-day pass for Tokyo metro and Toei subway at ¥1,000 since I figured I will be visiting many places today. When I reached Tsukiji Fish Market, I decided to try the egg omelete which costs ¥100 and the taste was just great! Along the way, I was thinking of trying one of the popular sushi restaurants but the queues still scare me off. So, I ended up trying a random restaurant that had a promotion of ¥2,000 for a sushi set. Unfortunately, they do not allow photo taking so I had to take photos very discretely and secretively using my phone. Compared to Yamazaki, the quality of food here seems very average only. The chef also didn't ask me if I wanted wasabi, so I didn't really enjoy my food as I disliked wasabi.

Day 10 [4th June]: Tokyo

I woke up in the morning and birthday greetings were starting to come in via Whatsapp and also my Facebook timeline. For my first breakfast in Tokyo, I went with my plan to visit Tsukiji Fish Market and enjoy some fresh sushi. I bought the one-day Tokyo metro pass at ¥710 and took the subway to Tsukiji Station. I managed to find my way to the Outer Market with the help of a map just outside the subway station and Google Maps. Along the way, I visited Tsukiji Honganji, which has a design that is somewhat European influenced in my opinion.

Day 8 [2nd June]: Osaka + Arima Onsen

For my last day in Osaka, I was toying with the idea of going to Arima Onsen in the afternoon. For the morning, I went to Kuromon Market in Osaka for a brunch at about 11am. Surprisingly, the market is not too crowded at this time.

Day 5 [30th May]: Kyoto

I made an online reservation for a guided tour in Kyoto Imperial Palace for 30th May, so I made my way to Kyoto in the morning as planned. I didn't want to reach too early, but somehow I underestimated the time needed to take the subway from Kyoto station and walk to the palace from the subway station. So I ended up reaching the palace about 10 to 15 minutes later than the scheduled time. I managed to catch up with the group inside the palace and the guided tour duration is about 1 hour.

 
   
 

Day 4 [29th May]: Kobe

On my 4th day, I was kind of in a dilemma which place to visit because the weather forecast doesn't seem favorable for these few days. After checking through the weather forecast of Kyoto, Kobe and Nara, it seems that it should be a clear day only for Kobe. On the way to the train station from the hotel, I had breakfast and also bought a cheap and thin windbreaker. From Osaka station, it was about 35 minutes of normal train ride to Sannomiya station in Kobe.

Japan (May/June 2013)

Needed a good break and was looking around for a destination suitable for travel in May or June. After much research, it came down to either Eastern Europe, Spain/Portugal/UK or Japan. As I started doing some research on Japan, I discovered that accomodation is not as expensive as expected, especially compared to Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore. Furthermore, the airfares by Malaysia Airlines and Cathay Pacific seemed attractive. I was more interested in visiting Hokkaido, but decided it's probably cheaper to fly to Osaka/Tokyo and take budget airline to Hokkaido instead. And I went ahead with my travel planning and bookings.

Favourite Food in France/Italy

Having eaten French/Italian food for 25 days, what are my favorites that really made an impact in my memories? In Paris, I really enjoyed French onion soup and duck confit. Duck confit is good in all the restaurants I've eaten in. Slight crispy skin and slightly salted meat, yum! And I've eaten duck confit probably 5 times or more during my trip. Heeeheee.

   

In Naples, I really enjoyed calzone alot. It's cripsy on the outside and has pizza toppings on the inside. I had the one with mozarella, ham and salami inside and it was fantastic.

   

In Venice, I really enjoyed cuttlefish with black ink sauce, whether as a fish course or with spaghetti. I've also enjoyed mussels and clams in Venice as well. Rome is a kinda mix of everything, so I can't say there is anything that left a deep impression in my memory over there.

   

   

Day 20 [26-Oct]: Venice to Paris

Started the day by packing up and checking out, but putting my luggage in the luggage room. I headed to the lavenderia with my laundry soon after.

It was a short 10 mins walk to the nearest self-service laundry shop. I paid €6 to use the washing machine and another €1 for the detergent. After about 30mins of washing, I transferred my laundry to the dryer and paid another €7 to use it. I was not so familiar with dryers, so I wasn't sure what setting to use. A lady suggested to me that I can set it to 80 degrees and then check periodically. For €7, the dryer will spin for 30 mins. After some struggles of checking and using the machine, I collected my clothes though some were not thoroughly dried. Headed back to the hotel and packed in the clothes before I head out again to spend the rest of the free time I have for the day.

I took a slow walk to the direction of Rialto bridge as I was thinking of getting one nice t-shirt with a picture of the Rialto bridge. The t-shirts costs €10-€15 in most places, but I remembered it costs below €10 somewhere near Rialto bridge.

Day 18 [24-Oct]: Venice

After 2 days, I felt like I have visited most of Venice. So, I decided to start my day later at around 10:25am. I made my way slowly towards St Mark's Square.

For lunch, I stopped by a Chinese restaurant near St Mark's Square. I ordered a beancurd with vegetable soup to start my meal. For my main dish, I had chicken with bamboo shoots and mushrooms. The whole meal including rice, a can of coca cola, and 12% tax, totalled to €17.14.

Sydney (March 2011)

Photos from my biz trip in March 2011....



Airline: Qantas Airlines
Accomodation: Star City
Places visited: Sydney Aquarium, Wild Life Sydney, Taronga Zoo, Sydney Tower, Circular Quay, Opera House, Darling Habour, Bondi Beach, St Andrew's Cathedral, Hillsong Church (City Campus), St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney Fish Market

And I really really loved fresh seafood at the Fish Market and chocolate spread from Guylian cafe! There are only 3 Guylian cafes in the world, and 2 of them are in Sydney! And I was fortunate enough to stay in Star City's serviced apartment and the location was fantastic!