Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2013

Sojourn to the Land of the Rising Sun

The official climbing period for Mt Fuji starts from late July to early Sept. Since my friends aren't interested in this 'suffering' trip for the hike to Mt Fuji, I decided then that it shall be my solo sojourn to the land of the Rising Sun. The plane landed at Narita airport around 1pm and the immigration clearance was a breeze. I bought the airport limousine ticket to Shinjuku (3000 ¥), and thereafter I had to catch the highway bus to Kawaguchiko (1700 ¥). The ride from the airport to Shinjuku took approx. 1 ½ hrs and it was another 1 hr 45 min from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko. I set off early to explore the place the next day. You could take the retro bus at the Kawaguchiko station which cruise round the island. Kawaguchiko is well known for the Fuji Five lakes. Journey to Mt Fuji (3,776m) The round trip bus ticket to Fuji 5th station costs 2000 ¥ and the ride takes about an hour. Upon reaching the 5th station, I was greeted with a sea of hikers and tourist

Gunung Panti

I signed up for a hiking trip with a group of like-minded kakis to Gunung Panti. Gunung Panti is located in Kota Tinggi, Johor Bahru. It was drizzling when we were on our way to Johor. Thankfully, the rain stopped and the weather was cool when we started our trek at 10.30am. It was an easy trek till we were faced with this vertical wall that stands between us and the summit.       Spotted a pretty mushroom along the way.  It definitely looks daunting for those whose hiking experiences are restricted to only Bukit Timah nature reserve.   There are ropes which you could hold on to help you with the climb.   We had our light lunch, and enjoyed the view at the summit. Many of us also started to compare the number of leeches which got into our shoes.    I found two on my right ankle happily sucking my blood!   Our reward after this arduous climb was to have a durian feast at Kota Tinggi fruit farm. It was a real let-down though, the durians were awful! We journe

Siem Reap

This is my first time to Siem Reap, one of the cities in Cambodia and am eager to visit one of the world wonders, Angkor Wat. We stayed at the Royal Angkor Resort  which is less than 15 mins car ride from the airport. The resort looks pretty new and nicely furnished. It has a combination of the Khmer decoration with modern feel. The staff are extremely polite and helpful. Our room are spacious, bright and clean. Beds are soft and comfortable. There's also a big swimming pool! Cool... We tried the spa and massage, which was pretty good too. The Angkor Ruins We set off at 8am to visit the Angkor ruins. We purchased a one day pass as we are having a short stay. Weather in Siem Reap is humid and hot, weather seem cloudy and going to rain today. This make the weather cooling but yet increase the humidity. The ruins in Angkor comprise of several temples which include the world famous "Angkor Wat". These temples are mainly build by King Jayavarman VII in the twe