Northern Lights in Tromso, Norway - Day 1

Date of Travel: 28-31 Jan 2014

Aurora Borealis, a.k.a. Northern Lights, taken from Tromso, Norway

Call it luck. Call it fate. Call it anything you want, but being able to catch this natural phenomenon was breathtaking and once-in-a-lifetime for me. The picture above, was the goal of our trip to Europe this year. I feel blessed! And what a present for HH on her birthday today. Here's what happened.

Day 1
Berlin - Oslo, 11:35am - 1:15pm
Oslo - Tromso, 5:40pm - 7:35pm

It was really unlucky (or lucky) that there were snow storms everywhere that day, causing many flight delays. We were supposed to have a short trip to Oslo city to have a look, but due to the delay, we decided that it wasn't feasible. In the end, our flight leaving Oslo, was also delayed, and we eventually arrived Tromso at about 8:45pm.

All snowed in at Oslo airport

The airport has a very nice wood-y feel

Oslo Airport has very few restaurants for the amount of people here

Guess how much was a burger? NOK189 = RM95!

4 Days in Berlin - Day 2, 3, & 4

Date of Travel: 25-28 Jan 2014

Cycling in the snow, at the iconic Brandenburg Gate

Day 2
We kinda wasted today doing nothing much. After a superb hotel breakfast, we headed to the Trondl Market but found nothing much selling. Only later did we find out that today was a special festival day, where malls are only open from 1pm - 7pm today. Since our friend was really cold, we headed to our favourite outdoors-gear shop called Globetrotter to buy gloves. There was a sign at the door, but we could not read German! So we shopped at a mall nearby and hung around there till after 1pm, hoping that it would open. But luck wasn't on our side today. After heading back, we were just too cold and tired to go anywhere, and basically had dinner next door at an Italian restaurant called Marinelli.

My yummy hotel breakfast

4 Days In Berlin - Day 1

Date of Travel: 25-28 Jan 2014

Day 1

Continuing from my previous post in Barcelona, we decided to visit Berlin because it was a convenient stop on our journey towards Tromso, Norway. Also in my previous post, I had acquired a knee injury on my left knee. HH was really worried that I could no longer walk for the rest of the trip, and she had searched and emailed a contact to rent a wheelchair for me in Berlin. I have always been impressed by the efficiency and precision of Germans. True enough, when we landed, there were several missed calls from that company, and they had emailed a reply saying that they can promptly deliver a wheelchair to our hotel, for our 4 days here, and collect it back from the hotel before we depart. The cost was €50.00 nett for the entire duration. Not bad at all.

4 Days In Berlin - Intended Itinerary

Date of Travel: 25-28 January 2014

This was a very detailed itinerary planned by HH. However, she did not predict the weather to be -15°C and snowing most of the time. Perhaps it can still be usable on warmer days.

25/1    BCN-BER    1055-1345
28/1    BER-TOS    1135-1935

Sat 25 Jan (Group ticket ABC: Euro16.70 )
- Arrive Berlin Schonefeld 1:45pm
- Walk to S station Berlin Schonefeld Flughafen
- Take S45 11 stops to Berlin Sudkreuz Bhf
- Walk to S Sudkreuz Bhf station
- Take 2 stops to S Anhalter Bahnhof
- Checkin to hotel
- Take bus M41 3 stops to Sony Centre
- Take U2 towards S+U Pankow 2 stops to U Stadtmitte
- Walk to Augustiner Restaurant
  Address: Charlottenstraße 55, 10117 Berlin, Germany
  Phone: +49 30 20454020
  Hours: 10:00 am – 1:00 am
  Recommended: Weiner Schnitzel, pork knuckle, veal sausage (kalbsbratwurst), potato soup (kartoffelsuppe), big pretzel (brez'n) and beer (Edelstoff), potato dumplings(klopse), fried potatoes (bratkartoffeln), roasted pigs legs (hinterhaxe), beef goulash
- Walk to Unter den Linden, take bus 100/TXL towards S+U Zoologischer, 1 stop reach S+U Brandenburg Tor
- Take S25/S1/S2 towards south, 2 stops to S Anhalter Bahnhof. Reach hotel

4 Days In Barcelona - Day 3 & 4

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

Day 3

"Oh no! My shoes!" It pays to wear waterproof/Goretex shoes in winter

Having seen lots of buildings around Barcelona, we started the day with something not in my original itinerary at all: To see the beach! Yes it's in the middle of winter and we must be crazy going there in our heavy jackets. After eating at our hotel room again, we took the train to Drassenes station and walked to the Christopher Columbus monument. This area is known as Barceloneta, which seems to be the older part of Barcelona. It was a beautiful, beautiful morning by the water, eventhough the water was cold!

Bicycles for hire, but it was not available for tourists

4 Days In Barcelona - Day 2

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

Sagrada Familia - Under construction since year 1882!

Day 2
Today we had a booking to enter the Sagrada Familia's Nativity Tower at 3:00pm. It is highly recommended to make a booking prior to your trip, as the queue to enter the Sagrada alone will snake around the block! Do your bookings here http://visit.sagradafamilia.cat/?lang=en

We started the day with a healthy breakfast in our hotel room, previously bought from the Supermarket the day before, follower by a walk in the park at Parc Guell. To get there, walk to Girona station, catch the 9:06am metro for 2 stops to Trinitat Nova station. Use the same T10 ticket to take bus #116 at 9:20am for 6 stops. There is an entrance fee to enter the building, but we chose to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and view from the top instead. The park itself looks huge, but surprisingly it's again a false illusion, as you can easily walk the park rather quickly. Again, compliments to Gaudi! Have a look at the photos.

4 Days In Barcelona - Day 1

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

Barcelona is now my favourite tourist destination city. It has the perfect balance of sights, shopping, food and a great transport network linking all of them together. The whole city embraces the work of the famous architect Antoni Gaudi and his modernisme ways. And which other city can you find a church under construction since year 1882?

Day 1
We woke up in Rome at 4am to catch the flight to Barcelona, and landed at 10am. From here, grab the RENFE train from the airport to Passeig de Gracia and walk 200m to Hotel Europark. Though it was in the middle of winter, the weather was very pleasant, approximately 15°C, making the walk very pleasant. Hotel Europark was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the 3 of us at only €61.60 per night (excluding the €0.72 city tax per person per night).

Triple Room for €61.60/night without breakfast (Off-peak in Winter). Extra bed slightly too soft

4 Days in Barcelona - Intended Itinerary

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

This is my original itinerary for Barcelona. I still think it's a good itinerary, if not for the fact that my knee gave way halfway and we couldn't venture that far anymore. My actual itinerary will come next.

22/1    CIA-BCN    0810-0955
25/1    BCN-BER    1055-1345

Wed 22 Jan (1 x T10)
- 0955 Arrive BCN Airport
- Buy 2 sets of T10 tickets from the entrance of RENFE station
- Take RENFE train to Passeig de Gracia, walk to Hotel Europark to drop bags
- Walk to Casa Mila for photos
- Walk to lunch at La Flauta for fabulous Tapas. Order cabreados eggs, assortment of tapas platter and pam amb tomaquet, and a glass of house wine. Finish off with crema catalana. Total €33 for 2 pax - Walk to Casa Batllo for photos
- Walk to Placa de Catalunya for shopping at El Corte Ingles'
- Dinner at Cafe Alfonso
- Back to hotel for rest

Gold Coast 7D/5N Itinerary

Surfers Paradise beach in Gold Coast, Australia in 2004

I was helping a colleague organise an itinerary for Gold Coast, Australia. She is someone who seldom travels, but wanted to bring her 9 year old daughter for her first overseas trip. After checking out several tour companies in KL, the itineraries they came back with were far from adequate. They had nothing but theme parks, and rather expensive. Gold Coast is such a tourist friendly place, that all the theme parks were easily accessible by the public bus. The best would have been to rent a car, but she is really afraid of D-I-Y holidays. So here is what I had planned for her.

Autumn in Kyoto 2013 - Planned Itinerary

Date of Travel: 22-27 Nov 2013

Before I get to my actual post about Kyoto, here's a look at our itinerary. All in all, RM2700 per person which includes airfare, hotel, all meals, transport and entrance fees to sights. Excludes shopping.

Friday 22 Nov
- Land 0825am. Have breakfast at Airport.
- Pickup ICOCA pass & book the tickets for Sagano Scenic Railway at the JR station!
- Catch 09:40am bus from Bus Stop No.12, 1st Fl North Exit for Shuttle to Rinku Town (100yen/way)
- 10:00am arrive Rinku Town Premium Outlet
- 11:40am depart Rinku Town Premium Outlet back to Kansai Airport (taxi or train)
- 12:16-13:31 Train from Kansai Airport to Kyoto
- Transfer to Kyoto Subway Karasuma Line to Shijo
- 15:00pm Check-in to Toyoko Inn Shijo Karasuma
- Rest until 16:00
- Head to Teppanyaki dinner @ 1600 at Hyakuren, 572 Nakanomachi, Uratera Shijo-dori Agaru
- Take Bus #207 to Kiyomizu-dera Temple for night lightup - 23mins 220yen
- Explore Kiyomizu-dera temple (1830-2130 400yen)
- Take Bus #207 @ 2008/2024 back to hotel - 23mins 220yen

Saturday 23 Nov - Fushimi Inari & Uji
- 07:30 breakfast
- Take bus 207 @ 0805 or 0820 (busstop on hotel side) to Tofukuji - 29min 220yen
- Enter Tofukuji temple - 350yen
- Take JR @ 0939 from Tofukuji to Inari - 17min 140yen
- Stroll around Fushimi Inari Taisha
- Lunch Unagi Don at Nezameya Fushimi @ 11:30am
- Take JR @ 1309 or 1322 to Uji - 23min 230yen
- Walk around Byodo-in shopping street
- Visit Byodo-in Temple
- Walk through Uji park, Uji Shrine, and cross the river
- Eat Green Tea ice cream at Itohkyuemon (19-3 Todouaramaki, Uji City, Kyoto. 1000-1800)
- Take Keihan @ 1607/17/37/47 from Mimurodo to Gion-Shijo, transf at Chushojima Station - 28min 300yen
- Shopping at Kawaramachi before dinner
- Dinner near Gion-Shijo
- Walk back to hotel (< 1km)

Sunday 24 Nov - Ginkakuji Area
- 07:30 breakfast
- Take Bus #5 @ 0815 (busstop on hotel side) to Shinnyo-do Temple - 22min 220yen
- Explore Shinnyo-do Temple (0900-1600)
- Walk to brunch at Hinode Udon, 36 Nanzenji Kitanobocho for brunch (1100-1700)
- Alternative brunch at Yamamoto Menzo, 34 Okazaki Minamigoshocho for Udon+Tempura
- Walk to Eikan-do Temple (5min walk) to explore
- Walk to Nanzenji Temple (5min walk) to explore
- Take Bus #5 @ 1403 to Sanjo shopping area - 220yen
- Shopping time 1430-1730
- Meet back @ 1800 for Dinner

Monday 25 Nov - Kinkakuji Area (Buy Bus Pass)
- Take Bus #55,101 @ 0800 (busstop at Karasuma Shijo Junction) to Kitano Temangu - 30min
- Visit the arts market only open on the 25th of each month
- Explore the Kitano Tenmangu temple
- Walk 5min to Brunch Toyouke Chaya 1100-1500 or when sold out, famous for Tofu
- Take Bus #204,205 (busstop at junction of Kitanohakubaicho Keihan station) to Kinkakuji - 13min
- Explore Kinkakuji (Opens 0900-1700)
- Take Bus #205 from Kinkakuji to Sukiyaki Lunch @ Kirin Tei - 36min 220yen
- Lunch at Kirin Tei, Last order 1400. Good for beef hotpot. Off Omiya Dori & Shichi-jo Dori junction
- Walk to Kyoto Station for shopping at Yodobashi Camera.
- Have green tea ice cream at Isetan Kyoto Station
- Take bus/subway back to hotel

Tuesday 26 Nov - Arashiyama Area
- Take subway @ 0816 to JR Kyoto Station (210yen 5min)
- Take JR @ 0826 from Kyoto to Umahori - 25min 320yen
- Walk 10min to Tarokko Kameoka station
- Take 0935-0958 Sagano Scenic Train to Torokko Arashiyama (600yen)
- Walk north to Jojakujoji
- Lunch at Hanana seabream fish, 26-1 Sagatenryuji Setogawacho
- Walk to Nonomiya for bamboo forest
- Visit Tenruji Temple - 500yen
- Walk across the famous Togetsukyo bridge
- Take train from Hankyu Arashiyama Station to Karasuma, change at Katsura - 27min 220yen

Wednesday 27 Nov
- 07:00 Subway to Kyoto Station
- 0715-0854 train to Kansai Airport
- 11:00 depart Osaka for KUL

Other posts in this series:
Autumn in Kyoto 2013 - Planned Itinerary
Autumn in Kyoto - Day 1 (22 Nov 2013)
Autumn in Kyoto - Day 2 (23 Nov 2013)
Autumn in Kyoto - Day 3 (24 Nov 2013)
Autumn in Kyoto - Day 4 (25 Nov 2013)  
Autumn in Kyoto - Day 5 Final (26 Nov 2013) 

Planning for Japn 2012: Kyoto 5D/4N Itinerary

Day 0: Arrive Kyoto approximately 6:00pm, and check-in to hotel
- Eat! Head to Gion district to have dinner and soak up the atmosphere of imperial Japan
- From Kyoto JR Station, take bus 100, 206 or 206 and get off at Gion Bus Stop (220 Yen)
- Have dinner at Gion area

Kyot's Gion distrct. Photo credit: http://www.syasin.biz

Perth 7D/5N Itinerary

A friend of mine recently asked for help for her trip to Perth. Having spent 3 whole years in Perth, I wanted to show her a different side of Perth that is different from the packaged tour company offerings. The beauty of Perth is being able to experience the city like a local, rather than a tourist. Live in an apartment or someone's house, rather than a hotel. Their group size is a husband & wife, with 2 children aged 6 and 7. Also a big dilemma is the odd flying times offered by AirAsia from Kuala Lumpur. This is what I came up with:

Saturday 26 May 2012 - Day 1
- Depart Kuala Lumpur 11:55pm


Sunday 27 May 2012 - Day 2

1. Arrive Perth International Airport 5:25am

2. Choose a Car Rental company that opens at 5:30am, so that you can return your car upon departure from Perth. Only one company fits the bill - Avis (www.avis.com.au) Opens: 5:30am - 3:00am

Planning For: Japan 2012 - New Itinerary

Due to cost constraints, we have decided to remove Takayama from our itinerary as this could cost an additional RM500 per person just to get there and back. It may be wiser to just enjoy ourselves at a slower pace in Kyoto, Nara and Osaka. The following is our latest itinerary:

New Itinerary
02 Apr: Arrive Osaka Kansai Airport, transfer to Kyoto
- LTD Exp Haruka 26 1616-1732 (every half hour departure, 76min)
- LTD Exp Haruka 28 1646-1802
- Buy JR West Rail Pass 1-day (2000Yen)
03 Apr: Kyoto (Buy Surutto Kansai 3-day Ticket 5000Yen)
04 Apr: Kyoto
05 Apr: Kyoto
06 Apr: Kyoto to Nara (690Yen, 1119-1203 / 1219-1303 / 1319-1403)
07 Apr: Nara
08 Apr: Nara to Osaka (540Yen, Walk to Kintensunara, 1137-1212/1214-1252)
09 Apr: Osaka (2-day Unlimited Pass 2700Yen)
10 Apr: Osaka
11 Apr: Osaka to Kansai Airport (Nankai Airport Express 890Y)

Planning For: Japan 2012

So far, I have been focusing my blog posts on telling you what happened after returning from a trip. This is the first time I will be showing you how I plan for a trip, during the planning process.
Note: I do not read/write Japanese or Chinese. Planning for Japan is slightly harder due to the language barrier

1. Getting the Air Ticket
I got word of AirAsia launching their Osaka new destination, 2 days prior to the launch date on 14 Oct 2011. It gave me 2 days to decide when I would like to travel to Osaka and for how long. In my past experience, I found 10 days to be the optimal amount of time to spend at any place. Anything more, and I'd start to miss home. Anything less, and you lose out on getting the real feel of the place. Another thing about Japan that I really wanted to see were the cherry blossoms, i.e. sakura/hanami season. Do a google on "Cherry blossom Japan 2011" and you will get to this link
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html
This is of course only an estimation, and nobody can tell you when it will be in full bloom. I can safely say the 1st to 2nd week of April would be optimal for Osaka/Kyoto. During the air ticket booking process, the cheapest possible dates for that time frame was 2 - 11 April 2012 @ RM544 per person.

2. Where to go in 10 days?
This is the part that took the most amount of time. My thoughts went wild. This would be my first trip to Japan. Should I do Tokyo Disneyland? Merely because I have already been to Disney's in Los Angeles, Orlando and Hong Kong, sorta like a Disney Grand Slam. Or do I want to visit the many famous places of Tokyo? HH has always wanted to visit Hokkaido as well. 10 days is not a lot, and it's not little either. I was toying with the possibility of including Hokkaido into the itinerary. Being a tourist in Japan, we are entitled to purchase heavily discounted tickets for flights to Hokkaido (approx 10,000 Yen per way)