A world disaster, change of plans and eventually a great holiday!



Well needless to say our trip to Japan was postponed due to the earthquake and Tsunami striking 10 days before we were set to fly there!  Although I was very disappointed that was nothing compared to what the people in Japan were going through.  Luckily for us being on the other side of the world, we were fortunate to be able to book another trip, we decided on Singapore as Jetstar was flying return for $515 ... YAY!

With only a few days to re plan our trip I headed into overdrive with my type A control freak planning style! Plus I already had the 'Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei' LP book due to an up and coming trip to Malaysia in June.  I had been to Singapore a few times when I was much younger but I had no real bearings on how the city was set out and this is always a challenge for me! I decided on G4 Station Backpackers Little India as the place to stay, which in the end turned out to be perfect!! It was a 1 min walk from the Little India MRT (Subway) station which was on the direct line to Chinatown, Clarke Quay and Harbourfront (Gate way to Sentosa).  The hostel was basic and pretty clean, we enjoyed our stay there, my review in more detail is on trip advisor it was only $80SGD a night for our private room (double bed and shared bathrooms), which for me is good value, especially when its location was so good! 

Below is the itinerary I had quickly planned before leaving, we managed to do everything on the list except the Singapore Flyer due to it being under maintenance, we swapped a few activities around to fit in better once we got a feel for the city.

Wed Day 1 –

Arrive Singapore at night. Travel to Little India, check into G4 Backpackers.

Thu Day 2 –

Little India (Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple, Leong San See Temple, Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple)

Orchard Road

Evening - Night Safari

Fri Day 3 –

Sentosa Island

Sat Day 4 –

Singapore Flyer

Kusu Island boat tour.

Sun Day 5 -
Chinatown (Tea shop)

Mon Day 6 –

Kampong Glam
(The Grand Sultan Mosque)
Bugis Junction and Market

Tue Day 7 -
Haw Par Villa Park

Wed Day 8 –

Universal Studios

Next post I will post up the adventures we had and sights we saw in detail plus photos :)

xx

2 months till first lift off.....

Its 2 months until our first trip of 2011 and of our new commitment to travel far and wide!  Japan is first on the list, with a visit to Tokyo and Kyoto.  I have always wanted to go to Tokyo so as you can imagine I am very very very excited! I have been reading and planning, re reading and re planning and probably annoying everyone on the Lonely Planet forums!

Im a huge Hello Kitty fan and T has been warned that we will be visiting 10 year girl hot spots such as Sanrio Puroland.

So here's our final (I think) itinerary, the only thing I can think of is possibly doing a day trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima ...


Wed Day 1 - Arrive Tokyo at night. Travel to Ikebukuro, check into Ryokan and sleep!

Thu Day 2 - Imperial Palace/Tokyo Dome/Ginza exploring. Dinner in Ikebukuro (Sunshine City) and visit Hello Kitty store and Otome Rd 

Fri Day 3 - Odaiba (Check out little Hong Kong, Tokyo Joypolis, Ferris Wheel etc etc)

Sat Day 4 - Mt Fuji day trip (Kawaguchi Ko), meet T's friend who lives in Tokyo in the evening.

Sun Day 5 - Catch train to Shinjuku, walk from Shinjuku to Harajuku (Harajuku girl spotting), walk from Harajuku to Shibuya (see Hachiko statue)

Mon Day 6 - Day trip to Kamakura (See temples, hire bike)

Tue Day 7 - Shinjuku exploring. Catch train to Sanrio Puroland (maybe)

Wed Day 8 - Akasaka and Roppongi (Tokyo Tower, Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Midtown). Disneyland at night from 6pm then catch overnight bus from here to Kyoto.

Thu Day 9 - Arrive Kyoto. Path of Philosophy walk (including Nanzen Ji Temple). General exploring. Gion walk in late afternoon (Geisha spotting?!?!)

Fri Day 10 - Arashiyama (Monkey park and temples). Bamboo forest.

Sat Day 11 - Golden Pavillon. Catch overnight bus back to Tokyo. (any suggestions regarding something to see nearby pavillon etc would be great)

Sun Day 12 - Arrive in Tokyo (Ryokan in Asakusa). Ueno walk (including Zoo and Temples)

Mon Day 13 - Explore Asakusa (Senso ji Temple). Fly home in the evening