South Korea Trip Day 6 – Seoul

Kimchi fried rice with dumpling soup as breakfast… but don’t eat too full yet because there are more yummies later on hehe…

The local fish market is the place where I will always visit when I am overseas because seafood is my favourite , so Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market here we come…

It’s a really easy place to reach because you just have to take the local subway to Noryangjin Station and just follow the signage, the market is just across a bridge.

And tada! Wow! You can find all kinds of seafood there…

Don’t be too stunned by the seafood because the ajumma will scold you if you stand there for too long taking pictures. Anyway, just follow the crowd and move. When you are done with the photo and checking out the price (the starting price is mostly standard), remember to haggle with the stall owner, the more you buy, the more discount you can argue for.

Once you have settled on the price, most of the stall owner will bring you to their affiliated restaurant to cook the seafood for you (take note the cooking is another cost). Btw a plate of 8x oyster cost KRW5,000! Where can you find this price in Singapore, so we hoot quite a lot of oyster haha…

Lee Min Ho: Water is self-service… he’s so famous haha…

Next, we went Dragon Hill Spa Jjimjilbang near Yongsan Station. Entrance fee: KRW6,500 after 50% discount for Asiana Airline (bring your e-ticket).

After paying, you are given an electronic wristband which will hold all your expense you spend inside. After changing into their clothing, time to explore…

And eat… the famous sikhye (sweet rice drink) and 3-colour eggs… Remember to break open the egg using your head, as in KDrama haha…

And not forgetting the Sheep Head Towel haha…

After cleaning up the sweat, we head on to Myeong-dong…

The famous steamed dumplings… delicious…

Other nice to eat: Egg Muffin, Corn Dog

The tired promoter… the dog costume is so cute… haha…

After our shopping spree, we went on to Dongdaemun, a wholesale market for apparel. After walking for 30 minutes, really nothing much to buy there, only bought this pair of Shin-Ramen socks.

Hungry back at hotel, luckily right across our hotel is a Red Tent Food Stall: kimchi pancake, seafood fried rice, mussel soup. Taste-wise just so-so, just go for the KDrama experience.

Today is the last day in South Korea and is the most enjoyable day for this tour, and as always, with stomach filled to the brim

South Korea Trip Day 5 – Seoul

Morning, we head to Bukchon Hanok Village, home to hundreds of traditional courtyard houses known as “hanok” that date back to Joseon dynasty.

Lunch, we had the Korean version of Singapore’s bakuteh, hmm… a bit odd with potatoes but still nice.

Next, is Insadong. The only Starbucks with Korean signage in Korea, BBQ clam meat, “Shit” pancake.

Dinner we have Bibimbap and Grilled meat and the interesting sweet rice wine!

Another MUST-TRY food in Korea is our supper… the Pork Burger from MacDonald’s… simply delicious! Highly recommended!

South Korea Trip Day 4 – Jeju

Traditional Abalone Porridge breakfast, with no visible abalone… disappointed…

Pony Valley… an awesome acrobat performance by the Mongols living in Jeju… Bravo!

Next, went to Micheon Cave Resort… Micheon Cave is nothing much, just a very dark cave…

Area inside the resort… Try throwing the arrows into the bin from a distance

Dirty eating habit of the famous Jeju Black Pig, eating shit from the boys… eeks…

The 3 pole gate in Jeju, symbolizing the house owner where-about…

The giant Jeju Grandpa!

Go Kart frenzy… It’s winter man! so cold!

Tangerine picking… but can’t find the famous Hallabong on any tree haiz…

Lunch time… Black Pork Bulgogi

Next to Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site. At coastal area is where the Jeju Woman Divers perform their diving stunts.

Next is the mysterious road, where cars at free gear will travel “upslope” (illusion of being an upslope) themselves.

Cute piggy!

Abalone Ginseng Chicken Dinner… finally can see an abalone in my bowl haha…

Last stop the Yongduam Rock, also known as “Dragon’s Head Rock”, which don’t look at bit like a dragon… what can i say… Human imagination is so powerful!

A very heavy supper… All Seafood Steamboat with live abalone yeah!!! Also tried the live small octopus… chew well before you swallow or else it may stick on your throat… eeks! Haha…

South Korea Trip Day 3 – Paju

Time to go for some facial at Skin Anniversary Beauty Town but before that, we visited the KPOP Teddy Bear Museum located there too…

A small 3D art exhibition is there too…

The skin specialist there will rate your skin using a computerized system and let you know what your skin type is.

Then everyone is treated to the Golden Facial Mask haha…

With our freshly cleansed face, we move on to Paju Premium Outlets. Nothing worth spending there, so just take a few photos of the beautiful Christmas decoration still there.

Next, kimchi making!

Before…

And after… Look tasty haha…

Photo taking time… We are allowed to changed into traditional korean noblemen clothing and posed in front of the 3D art…

Dinner time… Beef Bulgogi… one of the best marinated BBQ meat I have eaten… Yummy!

Rushing to Gimpo Airport to catch the flight to Jeju…

South Korea Trip Day 2 – Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort

My first time skiing… it’s gonna be a tiring day… First we head to the ski equipment shop and change into the thick and bulky ski suit (inside still wearing your thermal wear). Then depending on how cool you wanna look or how rich you are, choose the other ski equipment, e.g. ski goggle (totally unnecessary if you have a pair of sunglasses but totally necessary if you wanna look really cool), snow cap (USD20!?! WTF!), scarf, gloves, etc…

After choosing the equipment, we head to lunch… Korean Stir-fried Squid With Pork

After lunch is the ski resort, now we have to change into our ski boots and choose the ski rods. Walking in the boots is a hassle, you have to walk with your heel touching the ground first or simply walk sideways like a crab. The whole process of changing into our ski equipment is such an ordeal… so tiring even before we actually start skiing.

Finally, we are taught briefly how to fall down safely (fall to the side) and stand up (use the rod to push the ski binding behind the boots to release the boot from the ski) and then how to ski forward. It was tough. Fall a couple of times and at the end of the session, I could only ski a few inches forward each time haiz…

Shagged out but we are revitalized by the gorgeous snow landscape from our hotel room… Wow!

The night scene is even more amazing!

We then took the gondola to the top of the park

 

Nothing special there so we head back to our hotel with our dinner… Jajangmyeon… Noodle with sweet black bean sauce, not much filling, only a bit of chawsiew meat inside. Of course always come with pickles and kimchi. Not bad.

South Korea Trip Day 1 – Hwacheon

Upon landed on Incheon Airport, we are taken to lunch first… Mushroom Steamboat! Healthy lunch

Then we head on to Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival.

Only a maximum of 3 fishes allowed to catch…

Got the entry pass and the fishing rod…

Finally… Ice Fishing!!! Yeah!

Because this is bait-less fishing, the fishes will not be lured to your hook, so it’s just luck. Of course, some technique will be helpful, e.g. you should lower the hook to around 1/5 from the river bed, it’s the level where most of the fishes swim at. And also when a fish swam pass your hook, pull up the hook immediately, hopefully the hook will catch the fish.

Anyway, saying is easy, doing is another thing… after fishing for an hour, I only caught one haha…

Time to eat but you won’t be eating the fish you caught, it needs to be passed back to the main counter, then head on into the tent and some soldier will help you to barbeque the fish over coal.

As for the taste, some of the fish are seasoned till too salty but nevertheless they are really FRESH… nom nom…

Exercise time! There are tons of activities at the festival, e.g. sledding, skating, cycling?!? yes not typo, the bicycles are remodelled to be able to cycle on ice haha…

Sledding is the MUST-TRY… Sit on a rubber tubing and slide down the slope… it’s so exciting and fun!

Time to go to the next destination: Ice Illumination Plaza, ice sculptures of monuments around the world are hosted there… our Singapore’s Merlion too haha…

Dinner time! Korean Braised Herbal Country Chicken… Yummy!

Finally can sleep after no sleep on plane again… zzZZ…

Indonesia Bali Trip Day 6 – Time to go home :(

Go look look around the villa before we leave for the airport…

Just behind the villa, saw the locals taking a bath and doing their nature calls in the river that leads to the sea haha…

Oh ya… Don’t forget the ridiculous Airport Exit Tax of RP200,000 per person to pay at the airport. And last but not least… Goodbye to the playful doggies…

Indonesia Bali Trip Day 5 – Siesta in the villa

Nothing much to talk about, just sleep, eat, watch movie, soak in jacuzzi, eat again, Balinese massage again, eat again, watch movie, sleep again… Life like a king is AWESOME! LOL…

Oh before I forgot… the famous crispy duck in Bali and other foods for the day…

Indonesia Bali Trip Day 4 – Kuta

Already craving for Chinese food, so decided to go for Dim Sum along Kuta main street… and found B Couple restaurant which sells all kinds of dishes from Chinese, Japanese to Western food. Initially, we are quite skeptical about the Dim Sum in Bali, but to our surprise, they are good, very comparable to Dim Sum in most restaurant in Singapore. Yum yum at the expense of RP600,000.

Satisfied with our lunch, we spend the whole afternoon shopping along Kuta main street and inside the air-conditioned Discovery Mall

Dinner time come and we had Thai food at Celsius Cafe (RP300,000) while enjoying the beautiful sunset and the active crowd on Kuta beach…

Indonesia Bali Trip Day 3 – Goa Gajah, Tegalalang Rice Terraces, Mt Batur and Lake, Gianyar Night Market

First stop is the Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave, though I don’t see any elephant around. First thing first, need to put on sarong if your knees are not covered. A man at the ticket checking counter will put on the sarong for you free-of-charge (or covered by the entrance fee RP15,000), so don’t get cheated by the peddlers outside the entrance.

Me in sarong lol…

Me rinsing my hands using the rather smelly “holy” water…

Next on, to the very popular Ibu Oka’s Bali Guling, which is very nearby in Ubud. The main store is fully seated, so we are directed to its 3rd branch. Hmm… the pork meat looks like chicken, taste-wise, personally I feel it has too much herbs which I am not used to. And for the pork skin, it is not crispy enough and tough to bite on. Anyway it’s not as fantastic as reviewed on the Internet, so a bit disappointed.

Next, we head on to Tegalalang Rice Terraces… nothing but peaceful greenery…

On the way to the next location, we are bought to a coffee plantation, so bought some coconut coffee powder, which smell and taste yummy sweet Saw coffee plant, old lady roasting coffee traditionally, kopi luwak and civet cats munching on the coffee seeds, etc.

And we carry on the journey and saw Mt Batur and Batur Lake, RP10,000 for a Gorgeous view!

Along the way to Gianyar Night Market, we pass by quite a few giant statue located at the middle of the crossroad. According to our driver, they actually represent some godly figures which Balinese will pray to for having a safe road journey.

Gianyar Night Market is a very local market catering to Balinese, so we don’t see a lot of foreigner except for us, which make us feel quite awkward when walking through the Balinese crowd with my touristy look and camera… Nonetheless, it’s a very nice place which sells all the necessary things for the locals… especially the local food such as satay, ayam soto, nasi campur, betutu chicken, etc…

Maybe not very used to the local food, so I ate rather little. Luckily, we still have a capable chef in our villa

Indonesia Bali Trip Day 2 – Tanah Lot, Kuta Discovery Mall, Rock Bar at Ayana, Jimbaran Seafood

Rise and shine! Time to visit places of attraction in Bali, first stop… Tanah Lot, a temple in the ocean?!? no worries, no need a boat to ferry you there, just walk over a stone path but get ready to submerge your feet or even your knees in water haha…

Driver drove us there and paid RP 30,000 for the entrance fee…

Walk through the gate and a path filled with stores selling local products led us there…

Wave from the ocean crashing in! Woah!

Suicide jump into the great wave haha…

People walking the water path into Tanah Lot…

Gorgeous panorama view!

Sweet corn yum yum…

Next stop… Kuta Discovery Mall, a shopping mall with Kuta sea view. We will only stop there for lunch today due to lack of time. Btw saw this plane on the top of the roof of some building on the way… still wondering how it got up there?!?

Reached! And had A&W which has gone extinct in Singapore… and I know why after having my first bite of the chicken… Yuck! So salty! But the root beer with ice cream float, which I missed a lot, still taste great , just be careful of the foam that overflow the mug when the ice cream touches the root beer.

Have to rush to our next stop by 4pm because the queue would be very long by then, which is… the Rock Bar at Ayana Resort (previously known as Ritz Carlton)… Rock Bar is a restaurant bar on a cliff with the ocean view.

There are 2 ways down to Rock Bar, one by walking which will take around 10 min and the other, the most popular way is by a lift which can only ferry 7 people at one time and guests of Ayana Resort has priority. And this is why the queue build up really quickly. We took around 30 min in the queue to get to the lift, under Bali’s big bright sun, although the staff did provide us with umbrella but still very hot.

Down we go…

Reached the Rock Bar level… People are holding black umbrella blocking the sunshine, waiting for the gorgeous sunset. While waiting, you can watch the gorgeous waitress too, clad in skin-tight dress haha… Anyway, the weather is just too hot, so we decide to leave after taking some photos…

Gorgeous Panoramic View!

Fresh Seafood dinner time at Jimbaran… Langsam Cafe. A bit expensive around RP1,200,000 for 3PAX, quite worth it for the beach-side sea view dining.

Beautiful sunset photos!

Indonesia Bali Trip Day 1 – Bali

After 3 hours flight, we reached Bali! Yeah! Life like a king begins…

Passing through the customs in Denpasar Airport is a breeze for tourists from ASEAN countries but for the others, be prepared to queue and wait for more than 1 hour. Anyway, after passing through the customs, we saw an airport-authorized porter holding a piece of paper with my name on it. Oh ya! The villa’s owner said he will send someone to bring us to his driver. Hence, he helped us carry our luggage and we followed him to the car park to meet our driver from Villa L’Orange Bali, called Made (meant 2nd son in his family). After 1 hour road journey, the car turned into a small lane and then into a sandy path and… we reached the villa!

We are immediately welcomed by the manager and the crew, with glasses of fresh juices for us and Tada! Our superior villa, one of the 3 villas owned by Villa L’Orange.

Inside the spacious villa, complete with everything we need… An aquarium with very active tropical fishes! A 25sqm bathroom! And most importantly, a 52-inch Smart TV which I often streamed movies from my tablet! Cool!

 

We still have some time before our Balinese Masseuse comes, so some scenery outside the villa… swimming pool with Jacuzzi! And Gorgeous Sea View!

Balinese Oil Massage starts… ah! oh! ouch!… comfy…

Then Dinner time… Sate Lilit, Balinese Traditional BBQ Satay on Lemongrass stick… yum yum… the talented chef knows how to cook Chinese food too, so we ordered Fu Rong Dan, Fried Squid and Kang Kong (thought is with sambal but is with soy sauce, but taste not too bad)…

And remember to order breakfast for the next morning using this order form… full range of fruit juice, fruits, eggs, porridge, bread available… looks yummy too

Then sleep… already feeling like a king

South Korea & Japan Trip Day 6 – Arashiyama, Kyoto and Tokyo

Checked out hotel and took the subway to Kyoto Station, then to Saga-Arashiyama Station.

15 min walk to the Bamboo Forest…

The entrance to the Bamboo Forest…

Delicious BBQ Rice Cake…

Into the Bamboo Forest…

Cemetery in the forest…

A simple shrine…

Rickshaw ride here too…

Railway in the forest…

Back trek to the entrance and stroll by Tenryuji Temple next door…

Shopping along Arashiyama Main Street.

On Togetsukyo Bridge, watching cherry trees from afar…

Time to end the tour in Kyoto… but of course need to fill our stomach first before we leave… Found this self-serviced restaurant inside Kyoto Station… Curry Rice! Yummy! Especially the hot spring egg! Superb!

After 3 hours ride, we are back in Tokyo and decided to go Ikebukuro Station to buy some omiyage… Kitkats! At KitKat Chocolatory at Seibu Department Store Level B1.

And we are hungry again, time for puffer fish dinner at Tora-fugu Tei (3 dinner sets, total ard JPY18,000). The raw fish meat is still bouncing on its own free will… FRESH indeed!

Ended the night with a satisfied smile again  

But also a bit sad that this is the last night in Japan. Flying to Korea then back to Singapore the next day

The Korean traditional parade in Incheon Airport and the pretty Korean gals waving at me did cheer me up a bit the next day haha…

South Korea & Japan Trip Day 5 – Kyoto

We bought our Tokyo-Kyoto Bidirectional Shinkansen+hotel 1-day package from Japanican and they were delivered to our hotel the previous day. Hence we reached Tokyo Station this morning to take the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. It will take about 3 hours, so we bought our lunch… the famous Ekiben! Looks great but the food is quite cold so not very appetising… anyway we boarded the train.

The toilet on board the train looks so high-tech that I can’t help myself not to take photo of it haha…

Woah! Finally, we reached Kyoto Station and took the subway to our hotel. Checkin Karasuma Kyoto Hotel and collect the Miyako Odori exchange voucher for tickets (JPY4,500) from Concierge, which I have asked them to book beforehand, just in case it’s fully booked because today is the first day of their performance.

After checking in hotel, we head to Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Theater for Miyako Odori Spring Geiko  Dance Performance. Passed by Nishiki Market, Teramachi Shopping Arcade, Shijo Kawaramachi and Hanami-koji Preserved Street.

Gorgeous cherry blossoms along the way, near Shijo Kawaramachi, a crossway street where Shijō and Kawaramachi Streets intersect…

The Hanami-koji Preserved Street… a lot of authentic and expensive restaurant along this cobblestone street…

Finally, reached Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Theater. Just in time for the tea ceremony (need to arrive 1 hour before performance).

The ticket counter and our tickets…

Tea ceremony starts… the lady in black kimono will demonstrate the traditional japanese way of preparing green tea, after that, the lady in blue kimono will serve the tea to the VIPs sitting in front, and then the ladies in red kimono will serve the rest of the audience with tea and red bean mochi. The extreme sweetness of the mochi is used to complement the bitterness of the green tea, and they indeed blend very well with each other.

Tea ceremony ends quickly and we move to the waiting area for the dance performance…

Met this really nice maiko who is willing to take photo with us

Too bad no photo-taking during performance, so some sneak pics before the dance…

Some more photos after the performance ends…

Next, head on to Yasaka Shrine to eat dinner at the night market and see the night illumination of cherry blossom, night-hanami

The correct method to pray in Japanese shrine, i supposed… throw the coin into the donation box, shake the rope and ring the bell, clap twice, bow twice with palms together, pray silently for your wish (HUAT AH!), then finally bow one more time. Done! Hopefully it works haha…

Continue…

Crowd at the sitting corner…

Nostalgic feeling of the olden days in Japan… catching little balls using net made of paper…

Highlight of the day… the large central weeping cherry tree (shidarezakura) in Maruyama Park (reachable directly from Yasaka Shrine)

Our last stop and another must-go for night hanami… Shirakawa Canal, Gorgeous Cherry Blossom with willow trees… even japanese couples are having wedding shots there…

South Korea & Japan Trip Day 4 – Mt Fuji and Hakone

We booked a tour from Japanican for the day and are supposed to meet at the hotel we stayed on the first day, Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo. The gorgeous cherry blossoms at the hotel’s back entrance welcome us

The tour organiser usher us to a bus to Hamamatsucho Bus Terminal, then again up a coach with our tour guide. Along the 2hours journey, saw the Tokyo Tower in daylight, the highest roller coastal in Japan and of course Mt Fuji from afar…

Stopped at the Fuji Visitor Center for 15 minutes break…

Continue our journey to Mt. Fuji 5th Station for a better close-up view.

Stopped by a gantry, could not go any further up the mountain.

Hungry… pretty japanese bento lunch, taste delicious too

An even closer and clearer view of Mt Fuji at the lunch place…

Next, up Mt Kachi Ropeway…

Mount Fuji again…

At the top of the ropeway… Throw the clay dish into the circle rope and get lucky!

Before going Lake Ashi, some interesting finds at a souvenir shop… a secret wooden stash box which needs a special way to open and… as expected from open-minded Japanese, wine cups with erotic paintings on them…

A sightseeing cruise on Lake Ashi. The crater lake was born from a powerful volcanic eruption nearly 3,000 years ago…

Alighted from the boat… Goose boat and kawaii little gal on walking panda robot haha…

Tour ended and brought us back to Shinjuku, which is a gigantic shopping haven, filled with buildings…

And Woah! Our old time Japanese drama idol, 木村拓哉, Takuya Kimura!

Ok enough of the awe! We are hungry and crave for Hokkaido crabs… King crab (Tarabagani 鱈場蟹), Queen or Snow (Matsubagani 松葉蟹) crab and Horsehair crab (kegani ケガニ 毛蟹). We headed to KANI Douraku  かに道楽 新宿本店 (Subway Exit B3). It was difficult to find the building because there are just too many buildings around and worse still, un-named. Alas, we managed to find a policeman and he pointed us to the correct direction and we saw it! Hooray!

A rather dim place but have the authentic Japanese-styled restaurant, even have a music performance…

We ordered 3 sets of the 木莲 course dinner to share among us 5 persons. About JPY 24,000! X but is very worth it because our stomachs are filled to the brim with crabs haha…

Managed to make our way back to hotel with our heavy stomach haha… Oyasumi nasai!

South Korea & Japan Trip Day 3 – Tokyo

Never underestimate the wind in Japan!!! It was only a small drizzle while walking over from the subway station to Tsukiji Market but suddenly it pours and strong winds blew and bend our umbrella we took from the inn… in the end we all are drenched  

Anyway, time to feast to recover our strength haha…

JPY12,000+ of sushi and sashimi filled our 5x stomach to the brim haha…

Still raining, so walk walk around within the small sheltered area… btw if you are wondering why there is so few people at Tsukiji Market, I heard from our inn-owner that the day we visit is actually a special rest day for Tsukiji Market, so most restaurant are closed, hence is less crowded.

After wasting lots of our time waiting for rain to stop, we decided to skip the cherry blossoms at Ueno Park and the cosplayers at Yoyogi park haiz…

We went straight to Odaiba, a full-range of entertainment district on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay. We took to Shimbashi Station, then Yurikamome Line to Daiba Station.

The Toyota Exhibition Hall is situated there.

Ferris Wheel!

VenusFort Mall, looks very similar to the Venetian in Macau…

Vintage car exhibits

The Highlight of the day! Gundam! Spectacular!

The must-eat tacoyaki from Gindaco! Too delicious that we bought another serving after eating one haha…

The we settle our dinner at a Ramen restaurant in the mall… nothing to praise except the molten-form eye yolk.

And that’s all for the day.

South Korea & Japan Trip Day 2 – Tokyo

Woke up late but still managed to enjoy the awesome buffet breakfast in Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo, especially the beef patty, the juiciest savoury beef i have ever ate. Yummy!

Next, we took a taxi to our next guesthouse for the rest of our tour, Family Inn Saiko, rated number 1 on Trip Advisor. Very nice and cosy place and friendly owners. Ya, and remember to collect the taxi receipt and get a max JPY1,000 refund from the inn owner for your first taxi trip to the inn from Ikebukuro station or Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo. Btw taxi in Tokyo is very expensive, a 5min journey already incurred JPY1,000, so better take the train for long journey.

After dropping off our luggage at the inn, we head out to the nearest subway station, Kanamecho, and challenge the extremely complicated subway lines in Tokyo haha… even if you are prepared at home like me, you might be caught by surprise while using the subway because the subway lines are more colourful than a rainbow and are operated by two operators, Toei and Tokyo Metro. Make sure you exit the correct operator’s exit with the correct card, for example the free 2-day Metro Pass which I bought can only be used at Tokyo Metro station exits because it’s issued by Tokyo Metro. The distances between the various exits are farther than expected, once you reached the wrong exit, you have to walk rather far to the next exit, no recommended for elderly. Or to make things easier, just buy the PASMO (JPY2,000) or ICOCA card since they are usable on the two operators’ exits. OK! Enough grumbling…

We head to Asakusa station to visit Sensoji Temple… The BIG RED Lantern!

The alley leading to the temple, filled with snacks, souvenirs and people…

Sweet dango with green bean powder, only allowed to eat within a restricted area beside the stall because you might dirty the street with the powder…

Charcoal-baked red bean snack

It’s too crowded in the temple, so we decided to give it a miss and just take some photographs outside the temple.

We then went to the nearby Sumida River, where a lot of Japanese enjoy Hanami under the cherry blossom trees… Gorgeous!

Guess what… It’s the next place we are heading from far…

But before that, lunch at a nearby Chinese Restaurant owned by a Japanese… Hmm… Not bad…

Man-pulled rickshaw on the way…

Tokyo Skytree! The newest and tallest radio tower in Tokyo… arrived from Oshiage Station Exit B3.

Haiz… we arrived too late, the next ticket for sale is for 7pm, so decided to skip this and shop around at Solamachi Mall just beside the tower…

Calbee+ Stall, deep fried Calbee sticks on the spot for you…

Not forgetting the limited edition sold only here at Skytree, Tokyo Banana in leopard print… Yummy but could only last for 7 days, so eat it fast

 

Dinner time at Hitsumabushi 備長 on the sixth floor… famous for its authentic Nagoya style of eating grilled eel with rice and soup… a bit troublesome but the unagi is delicious…

Awesome night view of the Skytree…

Another 30min ride to Kamiyacho Station to view the famous Tokyo Tower… two different type of lightings before and after 8pm… pardon my poor photography skill, could not capture the beautiful illumination well on photo.

Next, took the subway to Naka-meguro Station and ended the night with a Night Hanami stroll along the Meguro River…

South Korea & Japan Trip Day 1 – Seoul

Actually our original plan is to fly directly to Japan but since my family have not been to South Korea before, I decided to transit at Incheon Airport and join in the free (with a little surcharge of KRW10,000, for lunch and entrance fee) 5hours transit tour organised by the airport. And so my 6hrs sleepless flight starts…

Finally we reached Incheon Airport, washed up and went out of the Customs to find the Hanatour (the tour agency outsourced by the airport) counter. Pass them our passports and the boarding pass to the next destination to photocopy for registration. Each is given a pin so we are recognised by the tour guide.

Do not trust the itinerary stated on the airport website, they are subjected to change due to time limitation. Anyway, our tour starts…

First to Jogyesa Temple… a Buddhist temple.

The must-do thing there is to walk around the tree three times in a clockwise direction and pray for your wishes as you circles it.

Only God knows true or not haha…

Next, we head to Gyeongbok Palace, a ancient palace within the modern city landscape of Seoul… Magnificent View!

Then, we went Insadong, an street lined with Korean cultural artefacts. Lunch there inside an alley, the traditional food, Bibimbap (mixed vegetables and rice with Korean chilli paste) and Bulgogi (grilled beef).

Touring around Insadong before we head to airport for our flight to Tokyo, Japan…

Tasty deep-fried local snack

The current craze in Korea, Ice-cream stuffed inside crispy cane-shaped cone. Nice…

That’s all for the 5-hour tour… rather short indeed… but anyway this is just a side-trip, our main tour comes next…

Bought the Limousine & Metro 2-Day Pass for JPY 6,000

Took the limousine bus at the Narita Airport and after about 90min, it stopped directly at our hotel, Metropolitan Tokyo.

Totally shagged out by the continuous trip between the two countries.

Europe Trip Day 12 – The Netherlands

Last day in Europe, free and easy. We stroll around Dam Square and the surrounding…

The Flower Market

The Washroom Boutique, which cost you $1.50 Euro to use the toilet.

Lunch time! Since it’s the last day, we celebrate by going to this very posh but still affordable restaurant to have the famous Mussels and Herring fish…

Eating the Herring like the local Dutch do haha…

The gigantic pot of mussels for 2 persons… Overwhelming Satisfaction! Haha…

Europe Trip Day 11 – The Netherlands

In the morning, we visit Zaanse Schans, a Dutch village dotted with windmills and cottages… Gorgeous! Highly recommended! Must come!

The pretty young Dutch lady at the cheese farm

The wooden clog factory

Chinese traditional toys to attract the Chinese tourists

Be careful of drowning! Haha…

Next we went Volendam, a harbour town near the North Sea…

If you are keen, you can dress up like a Dutch here…

Their famous pancakes which is like egg cakes in Singapore

Fresh seafood yum yum!

First time seeing this kind of warning banner in Europe. Unlike the other Europeans, the Dutch are so honest: Beware of Pickpockets!

Next we head to Amsterdam for its canal cruise… Nothing spectacular…

At the end of the cruise, is the Gassan Diamond House… Bling Bling! Of course we got no money to buy but are fortunate to try this 2 caret diamond! Wow so big!

Lastly, the tour guide has a bonus for us: bringing us to the Red Light District in Amsterdam, Sailors’ Quarters. But too bad no photograph allowed, scare that the mafia will beat us up. Sorry, just use your imagination haha…

The scantily dressed girls stand behind the transparent glass window in a small room and sway sexily to attract her customers. Normal price is around $250 Euro. Once the price is confirmed, the girl will lead the man to the door behind the room and complete the deal. But most of the showcase girls are a disappointment because they don’t look pretty and are mostly plump and worst still, sometimes I wonder if they are pregnant haha… But still they are a few good ones, probably 1 out of 20 looks slim and beautiful.

Other than showcase girls, there are also shops that cater to the other side of the gender, Gay. Often indicated by the multi-colours flag, these are shops which caters to Gay.

Netherlands never stop to amaze me haha… And also there are shops selling marijuana openly because it is legal to smoke them in Amsterdam. And there are all kinds of merchandise which comes along with it, such as Cannabis lollipop, Cannabis chocolate milk, Cannabis ice cream, etc. There are even start kits for people to grow them themselves haha…

Ok. Enough of the culture shock! We went back to our hotel and grab a burger from Burger King along the way. Wow! The fries are marvellous, unlike Singapore ones, must try!