Another early morning. The meeting time for my tour was 7:00 AM. The tour left quickly and the bus was on the way to Bangkok at 7:20 AM. I met a couple who also planned to go to the Grand Palace. I got some cash from the ATM and we attempted to get a cab…
Category: Asia
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 6 [Pattaya, Thailand – Day 3 of cruise]
This morning I set up my GoPro camera an hour before our estimated arrival to take a timelapse video. I had breakfast at O’Sheehans again to avoid the crowd at the buffet. I let the timelapse record until we docked, nearly 45 minutes late due to port traffic. My meeting time was at 8:45am, but…
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 4 [Singapore – Day 1 of cruise]
Gardens by the Bay and first day aboard the NCL Jade
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 3 [Tokyo to Singapore]
The start of a very long day. The final leg of my flight is on JAL, which means I am not able to be upgraded, so I’m flying economy. At least I have an aisle seat and a good neck pillow. They have us a pastry after taking off. I ate it later and it…
Checked in for the flight… Most of them anyways
This morning I was pleasantly surprised to receive an upgrade to business class on my flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo before checking in for the flight. Iwasn’t surprised about the upgrade – yesterday they had seven available seats in business class on the flight, just surprised it cleared before checking in. I have the…
First trip of 2020 – 12 day cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong
The ship sails in 5 days. My flight leaves in two. I only booked the cruise on New Year’s Eve. From the NCL app: I’m taking advantage of my status on American Airlines and hope to get upgraded most of the way there and back. I’ve been confirmed in business class on the return from…
Japan Day 11 [Tokyo to Oman]
My round the world trip has been derailed. I’m now flying to Oman from Tokyo on my way back to Houston….. Since my flight doesn’t leave until 2220 I had time to explore Tokyo a bit more. I checked out of the hotel and left my baggage. It was a very short…
Japan Day 10 [Tokyo]
This morning I was going to go to Senso-Ji in Asakusa before all the tourists showed up, but went to the Imperial Palace to see if I could get a ticket for the tour (you get inside the palace, but not inside any buildings) Interesting small door inside large door. Nice view of…
Japan Day 9 [Tokyo / Mt. Fuji]
Today was not a crystal clear day. Unfortunately the tour to Mt Fuji was only available on this day. The sticker for our tour. I paid $15 extra for the lunch to be included… I figured anyplace the bus stopped would be a tourist trap with very expensive food. The itinerary. We went to…
Japan Day 8 [Kyoto to Tokyo]
Another beautiful day in Kyoto. You can see the Shinkansen on the tracks from my hotel window. I started the day by visiting a nice garden called “Shosei-en Garden”. It was only a 15 minute walk from the hotel. The skies were a bit overcast. You can see the Kyoto…
Japan Day 7 [Kyoto]
This time we got to the Imperial Palace as soon as it opened. They have a great guide app (bring your headphones). Since we got there when it opened there was almost no one there. Poor planning meant we went to the Golden…
Japan Day 6 [Osaka]
Another beautiful day in Japan 🙂 Today I decided to go to Osaka and see the Osaka Castle. One of the turrets around the castle. It looks like a swamp animal in the moat. The Osaka Castle The…
Japan Day 5 [Nara]
The typhoon had passed and it is a beautiful day, so today I decided to go visit Nara. There were tons of these deer wandering around the temples. There were vendors selling biscuits for them. Unfortunately some of the buildings were under renovation. This…
Japan Day 5 – Nara [from Kyoto]
The typhoon had passed and it is a beautiful day, so today I decided to go visit Nara. There were tons of these deer wandering around the temples. There were vendors selling biscuits for them. Unfortunately some of the buildings were under renovation. This was a nice irrigation channel with a deer. I love Japanese…
Japan Day 4 [Hiroshima to Kyoto]
Late start today. Checked out of the hotel at 0830. Took a taxi to the airport – rain was pretty heavy and it wasn’t that much more than the streetcar. The first available Shinkansen to Kyoto was at 0950. Another $100.53 for a train ticket. Later we found out that it was one of the last…
Japan Day 3 [Tokyo to Hiroshima]
Today I started by leaving a bag behind at the hotel. I didn’t feel the need to carry my work boots and Nomex around Japan. After checking out of the hotel I walked across the street to the Shinagawa train station. I bought the most expensive train ticket I have ever bought in my life……..
Japan Day 2 [Tokyo / Shinagawa]
Another Bento Box for lunch. I made it back to the Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin Buddhist temple before dark today. Nice antique fire truck in Takanawa The location of the 47 Ronin who committed suicide… Sengaku-Ji temple The view from my hotel room. The view from the hotel parking structure. Some very…
Japan Day 1 [Tokyo / Shinagawa]
Bento box for lunch. A true “box lunch” Sunset at the hotel in Shinagawa. The Shinagawa train station. The first course of dinner. Unfortunately my jacket was hung up – with my phone. Description of all the dishes at the dinner. Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin…. a Buddhist temple in Shinagawa. Clouds were right for…
Round the World… segment 4: HKG (Hong Kong) to HND (Tokyo)
My flight arrived slightly later than expected. I decided that I wouldn’t get to see much if I left the airport…. Boarding started on my flight 4.5 hours after I arrived and the express train takes 24 minutes, leaves every ten minutes, plus going through security and immigration and a huge airport to get to…
Round the World… segment 3: DXB (Dubai) to HKG (Hong Kong)
After a nearly 4 hour car ride to the Dubai Airport from the empty quarter of Abu Dhabi I am flying on Cathay Pacific through Hong Kong to Tokyo, Japan. If my flight is on time I plan to escape the airport briefly as I have 6 hours between my flights. The seats…