Blogs from Asia - page 14689

Today has been another crazy day. Let me start from the beginning. Today was mostly a tour of Japan. Our teachers hired a bus for the day, and we were shipped around town. The first stop was Fukuoka tower. Every main city in Japan seems to have some massive tower which serves the point as an observation area for the city. The tower in Fukuoka is 123 meters tall, and provided for some excellent photos. After this, we saw several temples and shrines, had a traditional Japanese lunch, walked through a tourist shopping district (where everything was overpriced), and visited a Japanese history/artifact museum. Pretty interesting. We finished up around 5:30, and that’s when the fun started. Andy, Chris, and I decided to walk and get food. We picked a main looking street and set down ... read more

Ha Long Bay was probably our favorite spot in Vietnam. We took a tour for 3 days, 2 nights onboard a great boat. Package tours aren't usually our thing but this one truned out to be worth every penny. There was 13 of us on board the first day/night as we cruised out into the huge limestone formations that cover the bay. Enroute we stopped at a large cave. It was bit cheesy as it's been lit up with coloured lights "to make it more interesting". But the views from the cave mouth were spectacular. Later we were given time to jump off the boat for a swim before dinner. The food on the trip was great every day - loads of fresh squid and other seafood. The next day we left the big boat behind ... read more

On my way around the city the other day, I stumbled across one of the 'big' supermarkets in Phnom Penh, and although I knew it would be extremely overpriced, I decided that I desperately wanted to check it out anyway. Plus, the supermarket boasted some peace and quiet from the busy streets of the city. Door open, enter Maria. I grabbed a shopping basket (I did consider taking a trolley), and began slowly scanning the aisles for anything familiar. As I had epected, everything was entirely overpriced, close to double the market price, but I thought, 'Hey, what the hell. I need some retail therapy!'. In went some Asian two-minute noodles, which I can easily heat up on the little gas cooker I had bought for USD10. The next aisle had dried fruits and funny looking ... read more

G'waan Munster!!! First day in Hong Kong, and only concern was finding an establishment that would be showing Heineken Cup Final - luckily Delaneys of Hong Kong provided big screen access. What a day!! ..Although spent the whole of the next day recovering from the excesses of the night before, which at one stage included gatecrashing somebody's champagne celebration to assist in the proceedings! ... read more

Just arrived in Melbourne, - Bali was incredible. Most things are cheap, but it cost 15 pounds to get in, 8 pounds to leave, and every bit of food, drink and accommodation was taxed at 10 - 15%!!. The Balinese are very friendly and have a great sense of humour. The check in guy at the airport even said "cheers - big ears" to me. Double rooms are anything from 3 pound a night, and the food (especially seafood) is amazing. The coffee tastes great too, it's a bit nutty. Most things here are negotiable, and 9 out of every 10 people try to ask you if you want "transport" or a "taxi today yes? tomorrow yes?" You can get some really good deals, although in Kuta, I didn't get the hang of it, and some ... read more