Tokyo For 5 Consecutive Years

"Once You've Been To Japan, You Will Feel Like Going Back Every Year" - I never thought this applies to me. 

#1: Back to my favourite country - Japan

For the past 4 years, I've been visiting Tokyo every year since 2015 to 2018. Just when I thought this year I might not be going back, something came unexpectedly and here I am again back to Tokyo for the 6th time. Probably it's a sign I need to go Tokyo every year. 

My Previous Posts on Tokyo:

2015 Tokyo

2016 Tokyo

2017 Tokyo

2018 Tokyo

It was indeed another impromptu trip where I was informed about my trip to Tokyo a day before I was about to leave to Maldives. Everything was done and booked at the very last minute; from airticket to hotels. And for the first time ever, I have no well-prepared itinerary on hand since I've been to Tokyo several times before. It sounds like I'm so confident, right?

Here's a quick recap of my recent trip to Tokyo:


#2: If I was given option, of course I prefer to fly directly from Kota Kinabalu to Tokyo but as I need to fly with my guest, so I need to fly to Kuala Lumpur first before flying to Tokyo.


#3: Coincidentally, my handphone casing match this trip


#4: Tot it's last minute but luckily I managed to find a hotel within the budget given. Plus, the location is smack right in the middle of Shinjuku - hotspot area.
In total, I experienced staying in 1 Japanese inn, 1 capsule, 1 hostel, 1 AirBnB and 5 different hotels out from my 6 trips to Tokyo.


#5: Godzilla in Shinjuku area - Finally I spotted you


#6: My trip to Japan is incomplete without savouring their scrumptious ramen


#7: At last I got to see the Great Buddha in Kamakura, less than an hour south of Tokyo. Another wishlist ticked off


#8: Mount Takao, less than an hour from Shinjuku is an easily hikeable 599m mountain - but we cheat, by taking cable car.


#9: Onsen with a stunning view. Just that Mount Fuji seems to be shy shy when we're in Kawaguchiko.

Oh boy! I really wish I have more time to catch up and blog all my backlogs especially for my Japan travelogues, cause my upcoming trip is coming soon. Very soon! 

Read More

4D3N Maldives Trip On Budget Below RM2,000

Maldives, one of those countries I never thought I could ever travel to someday. The ultimate reason why holding me back from visiting Maldives is because of the luxury and overly expensive resorts and water villas which believed to reserve for the rich and famous only. Not until the boyfriend bought me a round-trip airticket to Maldives and he told me it's possible to travel to Maldives on a budget, I thought he was kidding at first. Only to find out he's been to Maldives for 4 times before, guess he's not fooling me. He was right - it's possible to visit Maldives without the worry of burning a big hole on your wallet, or maybe your bank account.

FLYING IN MALDIVES

From Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), so far AirAsia is the only airlines flying directly from Kuala Lumpur and arrive at Male International Airport, located on Hulhule Island sits next to the capital city of Male. The flight duration takes approximately 4 hours and 40 minutes. Time difference wise, Maldives is 3 hours behind Malaysia. 

As for visa, don't worry about it cause visitors with valid travel documents will be given a free 30-day visa on arrival. Bear in mind being a Muslim country, Maldives prohibit and ban items like alcohol, pigs and pork products, pornographic materials and public observance of non-Muslims religions.

LANGUAGE & CURRENCY EXCHANGE

The official language of Maldives is Dhivehi but fret not, cause English is widely spoken in business and tourist sectors. We have no issue with the language barrier at all. As for the currency, their official is Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR). However, majority of the resorts and most local islands accept US dollar as payment and because of that, we don't even bother to exchange for any MVR at all. 

US$1 = 15 MVR

We didn't buy any local simcard cause our trip is pretty short and brief. Plus, almost all the hotels, inns, and guesthouses and even eateries do provide free WiFi. In case you are interested to get their local simcard, you can buy at the airport once get out from the arrival hall.

ACCOMMODATION IN MALDIVES
Generally, there are two different type of islands in Maldives; the private and public. The private islands are mostly dominated by the luxury and expensive resorts whereas for the public islands, also known as inhabited island, there are local people living there. Being a budget-conscious traveller like me, I would rather to save up my money staying in the public island instead. Besides giving more affordable options for the independent tourists exploring the atolls, there are plenty of tour agencies, restaurants, shops available here. We chosen to stay in Maafushi Island in South Male Atoll - which I found quite popular among the budget travellers.



In Maafushi Island, there are numerous hotels and inns within the island, ranging from USD50-USD100 per night. The popular one are like Arena, White Shell, Kaani and more. The boyfriend pick to stay in Kaani Village & Spa that cost RM260 per night includes free breakfast.



AIRPORT TRANSFER TO MAAFUSHI
I unable to share the info regarding the airport transfer to Male Island cause I don't have the chance to visit this main capital city. Right after we arrived Maldives at night (around 8pm), immediately we head to Maafushi by taking scheduled speedboat - one way takes approximately 30 minutes ride and costs USD20 per person. These schedule speedboats only run 4 or 5 times per day (normally 8am, 12pm, 5pm, 7pm and 10pm - it's wise to ask the hotel you book from regarding the latest timetable). You can also opt for public ferry which of course, it's more cheaper but then, it's kinda slow as it takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes, infrequent and no public ferries on Friday.

SUMMARY OF MY 4D3N ITINERARY 
Day 1: Arrived Maldives at night. Took speedboat to Maafushi and rest.
Day 2: Full day snorkelling
Day 3: Diving / Excursion to private resort
Day 4: Half day snorkelling. Leaving Maldives

Basically, the things to do in Maldives are snorkelling and diving - the primary activities. Besides these, you can also go for fishing trip, water sports like kayaking, jetski, parasailing and more, or even splurge on a private island excursion.

After scout here and there, I found that those water activities offer by Arena Beach Hotel is the cheapest one. So, here is the price list I got from the excursion desk:

Excursions	Details	Price
Fishing (Traditional hand line fishing equipment and bottled water)	Morning Fishing Trip Freshly caught fish will be served for lunch service Time: 5.30am – 8am	USD35/pax (min 6 pax)
	Sunset Fishing Freshly caught fish will be served on dinner service Time: 5pm – 8pm	USD25/pax (min 6 pax)
Half-Day Adventure 10am – 3pm	·     3-point snorkeling (turtle, colourful fishes) ·     Lunch at sandbank ·     Dolphin watching cruise ·     Underwater photograph	USD25/pax (min 6 pax)
Shark Point Snorkelling 10am – 4pm	·     Snorkelling with buddle of nurse sharks ·     Visit one local island ·     Light lunch	USD50/pax (min 6 pax)

As for our day 2 full day adventure, we booked from our hotel cause we found out the package offers is more interesting and fascinating where we got to snorkelling with manta rays (these can't be seen in Malaysia)

Full-Day Adventure - USD65 per pax (Booked from Kaani Village & Spa)

• 3-point snorkelling (manta rays, nursge sharks and shipwreck)
• Lunch at sandbank
• Dolphin watching cruise
• Free underwater photograph and video

Snorkelling with manta rays

Shark!!! Fret not, cause this nurse shark is actually very friendly and won't bite one

Up-close with stingrays. Sorry but I can't help myself from keep thinking sambal


50 shades of blue at the sandbank

Shipwreck

Private Island Excursions 

Can't afford to stay on the water villas but would love to pay visit at these luxury resorts? Oh well, you can do so cause there are few private islands are open to non-guests who are not staying there. Since I unable to join boyfriend for diving, therefore I made up my mind to splurge myself on a full day private island excursion. To be honest, it's really hard to pick which resort/private island I should go cause almost all of them look exceptionally stunning and awe-inspiring. At the end, I chosen to visit Adaaran Prestige Vadoo, a 5 stars prestige luxury resorts. The package included a buffet lunch, unlimited drinks, as well as access to swimming pool and private beach. We even got to see fish and shark feeding by end of the trip before kiss goodbye to the resort.    

Excursions	Details	Price per pax
Full Day Resort Visit Inclusions: Round trip boat transfers Buffet lunch Unlimited drinks* Pool access* *unless stated wise	Adaaran Club Rannalhi   (No swimming pool access)	USD100
	Fihalhohi Island Resort (No swimming pool access)	USD 100
	Embudhoo Village Resort (Non alcoholic drinks during lunch time only)	USD 110
	Olhuveli Resort (Unlimited drinks during lunch time only	USD 120
	Adaaran Prestige Vadoo	USD 125
	Centara Ras Fushi Resort	USD 135
	Club Med Kani	USD 165

FOOD IN MAAFUSHI

Since our breakfast are provided by the hotel as well as our lunch already included during the excursions (snorkelling and resort visit), the only thing we need to settle is the dinner. Be prepared that an ala carte meal costs as low from USD6 and the widespread of buffet at the price of USD15 (after tax). We didn't get to try the buffet dinner cause we felt not worth for us since we are not big eater and therefore, we settled our dinner at Hot Bite (the location is very close to the Bikin Beach)

Not just Hot Bite serve both Western and Asian meals, they do serve Maldivian food too. 

 BBQ Dinner Buffet at Arena Beach Hotel for the price of USD15 per person

TOTAL SPENDING 

This is my total damage cause I took the full day resort visit package on Day 3:

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	USD	RM
Airfare AirAsia KL – Male Maldives - KL Accommodations Kaani Village & Spa – 3 nights Transportation Speedboat airport transfer (USD20/trip) Excursions Full day snorkelling – Day 2 Full day resort visit – Adaaran Prestige Vadoo Half day snorkelling – Day 4 Food and drinks Hot Bite Souvenirs Postcards – 2 for USD1 Stamp (1 piece) Magnet (1 unit)	- - 40 65 125 25 13 1 1 3	390 390 165 269 517 103 54 4 4 12
TOTAL (RM)		1,908

And this one is the boyfriend's total damage since he went for diving:

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	USD	RM
Airfare AirAsia KL – Male Maldives - KL Accommodations Kaani Village & Spa – 3 nights Transportation Speedboat airport transfer (USD20/trip) Excursions Full day snorkelling – Day 2 Diving – 2 dives* Half day snorkelling – Day 4 Food and drinks Hot Bite *Diving package he took from Arena Club - the package including diving equipments and lunch	- - 40 65 70 25 13	390 390 165 269 289 103 54
TOTAL (RM)		1,660

USD1 = RM4.135 as at June 2019

Conclusion, it's possible to realise your dreams to Maldives with the budget under RM2,000, as per what the boyfriend told me earlier. If not due to unfavorable exchange rate of US dollar, I think I might be spending less than what I calculated as above. 

Maldives, you are undoubtedly one of the most beautiful islands in the world but you also make me 50 shades darker. 

Read More

La Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's Unfinished Masterpiece

Like they said, a trip to Barcelona is definitely incomplete without visit any of Gaudi's masterpiece of architecture. So we went and visit Gaudi's awe-inspiring park, Park Guell on the second day, how about on the third day? 

Luckily on the third in Barcelona, we don't have to wake up pretty early like we did on the day before cause one of the Spain's landmark monuments that we intend to visit will open to public at 9am onwards. And the one I mentioned is none other than the impressive enormous unfinished Roman Catholic church, La Sagrada Familia. 

#1

Do you know that La Sagrada Familia has been under construction for more than 130 years and yet, it's still on-going project even today? It's expected to be completed in 2026 marks the 100 year centenary of the death of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi in 1926. When the church is finished, it will be 144 years after the first stone was laid. 

#2: The main entrance of Sagrada Familia 

Since Sagrada Familia is the most visited tourist attraction and there are about thousand of visitors queue up to enter this church everyday, hence it's advisable to book Sagrada Familia tickets in advance online. I got my tickets from here where I got to choose my preferred day and time. I picked to access the church at 9am - that's the earliest time and by 8.30am, we were in the line with the rest of the visitors getting ready to enter. But before we admit inside, there's a security control like where we need to scan our bags, personal belongings and including ourselves which similar to those in airports. 

#3: Exquisitely stained glass windows

We bought the ticket without any audio guide and guided tour which we explore and enjoy at our pace and admire the exquisitely stained glass windows as well as the unique vaulted ceiling and pillars of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. There's a ticket where you access up to the Passion facade tower but since we didn't include in our tickets, we can only marvel the grounds. 

#4


#5


#6


#7


#8


#9: One last shot before kissing goodbye 

Tips and Notes Before Heading to La Sagrada Familia:

1) The best time to visit would be in the early morning which between 9am to 10am as the crowd is at its least. 

2) In the case you unable to make in the early morning, try to avoid going between 12pm to 3pm cause these times tend to be the most crowded hours especially with the big tourist groups which coming during these hours. Hence, avoid these 3 hours at all costs.
3) Since it's a religious monument, be respectful by dress appropriately.

HOW TO GET TO LA SAGRADA FAMILIA

The best way to reach here by taking metro. The metro station right across the stree from Basilica has stops for Line 2 (Purple) and Line 5 (Blue) metro lines.

La Sagrada Familia opens at 9am everyday but the closing time differ throughout the year. During the winter time, it will close earlier than during the summer, and you should check for it in advance.

Previous Posts on My UK & Europe Trip - October 2018

• Autumn in UK & Europe (Sneak Peek)
• A Repeat Trip To London With Oman Air
• 2 Days in Porto, Portugal
• Keep Safe & Stay Vigilant When Visiting Lisbon, Portugal
• Pena Palace of Sintra, Portugal
• Adeus Porto and Hola Barcelona!
• Park Guell - Gaudi's Iconic Park in Barcelona

Read More

Park Güell - Gaudi's Iconic Park in Barcelona

4.30 in the morning - that's where my alarm rang.

Normally, I'm not a morning person but for the sake of travelling, I can get up early than my usual working hours. That shows how powerful travelling is. I prefer to arrive those popular tourist attractions as early as I can in order to beat the crowd. 

So, what's the agenda on the second day in Barcelona that causing me to wake up so early? None other than Park Guell, one of the top rated tourist attractions of Barcelona. It's remarkably popular among the visitors and to be wise, it's best to get there earlier. 

HOW TO GET TO PARK GUELL

To reach here, the nearest metro is either Lesseps or Vallcarca Station under the Green Line (L3). However, both stations require 20 minutes walk to the park. In case you are lazy to walk so far away, you can continue by taking bus 116, 24 or H6 from any of the two stations mentioned earlier. 

#1: Park Guell before the sun rise

Just when we thought we were the earliest one to arrive, we're completely wrong. Eventhough the sun hadn't risen yet, there were few group of people who arrived earlier than us. Looks like everyone want to get one perfect shot without being photobombed by strangers. Slowly, more and more group of people arrived here by taking taxi or Uber. 5 minutes right before the opening hour, we're allowed to access into the park. So without waiting any longer, let's explore and discover Park Guell. 

#2: The Dragon Stairway

Designed by the world-renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, originally it was an luxury residential complex but the project was abandoned cause no one seems to be interested in buying it. Gradually it converted into a public park and from there, it caught many public attentions for Gaudi's quirky and distinct architecture elements. 

#3: Park Guell's colourful, mosaic-embedded Salamander or Dragon Fountain

Not far from the main entrance, the first thing caught our attention is the dragon stairway which leads us to the colourful, mosaic-embedded salamander (some said it's a dragon) fountain. Whether it's salamander or dragon, this is the most famous spot that every visitor wouldn't miss out to take a photo with it. You know the sign of indicates "I've been here" that kind. 

#4

As soon as the crowd is filling in, immediately we moved on to the next area. We walked to The Laundry Room Portico first, before heading up for The Serpentine Benches which claimed to be the world's longest undulating bench in the world and not forgetting, the Nature Square or Greek Theater for a panoramic views of Barcelona. 

#5: The Laundry Room Portico


#7: Nature Square or Greek Theater and its Serpentine Benches

Before we kiss goodbye to Park Guell, we took the opportunity to visit and enter Casa del Guarda (The Guard's House) since we had bought the ticket earlier. It was one long queue to enter but lucky us, we managed to get it before the rain pour down. Initially it was a guard house but nowadays it converted into a museum offering background information of the Park Guell. 

#8: Shot from Casa del Guarda (The Guard's House) 


#9: Porters Lodge Pavilions

ADMISSION TICKET OF PARK GUELL

Entry to Park Guell is free of charge. It is the only Park Guell's monumental zone, which form 5% of the park, that is access controlled because most of Antoni Gaudi's artworks are in this part of the park, and this is where the tourists are paying to see. I would recommend to purchase the ticket online cause first, you can an online ticket cheaper by 1 Euro. Secondly, you can pick your own preferred time cause entry to Park Guell is restricted to only 400 visitors every half an hour. 

You can book your tickets to Park Guell three months ahead of your visit from this official website (here). 

A leisurely tour around Park Guell takes approximately 2 hours, where most of the times we stop for taking picture, including sitting on the bench of the terrace for a stunning views of Barcelona. Our verdict? It's really worth to spend our time and money on visiting Park Guell cause almost all of Antoni Gaudi's masterpiece is only concentrated in Barcelona, which means you can't see any of his artwork elsewhere including other cities of Spain. 

#10: Don't forget to dropby for some memento

Previous Posts on My UK & Europe Trip - October 2018

• Autumn in UK & Europe (Sneak Peek)
• A Repeat Trip To London With Oman Air
• 2 Days in Porto, Portugal
• Keep Safe & Stay Vigilant When Visiting Lisbon, Portugal
• Pena Palace of Sintra, Portugal
• Adeus Porto and Hola Barcelona!

Read More