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Showing posts from April, 2015

Japan - Day 1, Tokyo, Shibuya Street & Akihabara Electric Town

Every year I devote myself to one big vacation. I made sure I have a lot of savings to splurge on that vacation, and calculated all the things that I needed to do or buy. JAPAN WAS THAT VACATION THIS YEAR. Not knowing whether I will ever come back to Japan, I decided this trip was to cover most of the areas that I wanted to. Like, simply, staying in a traditional Japanese home, eating sushis in Japan, checking out Tokyo Disneyland, discover manga, the very few Japanese stuff I know of. I really know SO LITTLE of Japan, and decided this was the chance to learn all of that. Tokyo We flew in via AirAsia to Tokyo (Haneda) first. Our take off was around 2pm in the afternoon (Kuala Lumpur) and reached Haneda around 11.30pm. We were made to understand that the train stops operating around 12am, and counting the fact that we needed to pay an extra night just for a couple of hours till we move to our airbnb home, we disregard the idea, and stayed the night in the airport. Apparently

5 Ways to Move around Kota Kinabalu

As I walked into my car, sat down calmly, and switched the aircond on, I saw a young Western couple, ploughing their bags into the back of the boots. AH! They drove I thought to myself. I figured, as someone who are from Kota Kinabalu and LIVING in Kota Kinabalu, maybe I should share some insights on how one can move around Kota Kinabalu. 1) By Motorcycle / Bike My best suggestion to explore the bite-sized Kota Kinabalu is by bike! It's easy on the legs and it's also a breeze to explore with. It's always jammed in Kota Kinabalu, so swerving through with the bikes might just be a good answer. BUT remember, that also means you'd have to be extra careful or vigilant with the big lorries and other daunting vehicles. Most areas around Kota Kinabalu are within 10 - 30 minutes, so really, a bike is the best way! 2) By Bicycle Although no "proper bicycle" lane, moving around by bike is becoming the favourable choice. It's the healthier one too, and it's

Accommodation via Airbnb in Japan

When I started airbnb a few years ago, I'd never thought I'd be completely smitten by it. During my last trip to Sri Lanka, I fell in love with the idea of staying in the suburbs with a local Sri Lankan. Despite having to brave through the suburbs, finding solace in the homes of the locals' is eventually the ultimate prize.  Also, in such a short period of time to know the city, the idea really kills a few birds with one stone.  We did the same in Japan. I'll share with you here on the places that we stayed using Airbnb. In average, each of us spend about MYR 85 - 100 in one night and that's in a twin setting. I Googled to see some of the average rates for accommodation / hostels in Tokyo, and it would cost from MYR 150 onwards per person. After thinking sometime about it, we figured it's best we use some of our money to stay in a real Japanese house with a local Japanese as the host. Tokyo Our first stay in Japan was in Tokyo with the lovely young f